Konoha's Golden Viper
by Zaion Indulias
Summary: Naruto has been adopted and raised by Anko after nearly being burned alive. Now he is preparing to take the genin exam to became a shinobi of Konoha. But will he survive his enemies machinations, or will he perish in fire?
1. Chapter 1: Day of the Kyuubi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 1: Day of the Kyuubi

**October 10****th****, the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage stood in the office that had once been his, then his successor's. He held a small blond child in his arms as he stared out the window, looking out over the devastated city of Konoha as people scurried everywhere, putting out fires, rescuing the trapped, and gathering the dead caused by the Kyuubi's sudden and violent attack.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and looked down at the child in his arms. The sleeping blond child was smiling faintly. He had an intricate seal inscribed on his belly, and his hair was the same striking blond as his father's.

"I am sorry for this Naruto," Sarutobi said softly as he turned, handing the young child to an ANBU he trusted above all others.

"In order to hide his identity from his father's enemies Naruto must not be told his heritage until he comes of age. As such, he will be christened Uzumaki Naruto, after his mother, and he will be raised in orphanage. Hopefully we will be able to find a good family willing to adopt him soon, one who will look past what he carries inside of him."

Sarutobi sighed again.

"I fear that, despite Minato's final wishes, that the people of Konoha will not view Naruto as a hero for keeping the Kyuubi contained within him."

The old man took a puff on his pipe before continuing.

"Inu…no, Kakashi. I ask two great favors of you."

The ANBU who was carefully cradling the sleeping child look back up at his Hokage.

"I first ask that you personally take charge of the ANBU who will be detailed to keep an eye on Naruto, to ensure that he should come to no harm."

The dog-masked ANBU nodded in acknowledgement of this first request.

"The second is that when he is old enough, should he choose to become a ninja, I want you to teach him the Rasengan."

The dog-masked ANBU nodded again.

"It…would be my honor, Hokage-sama. He is my sensei's son, and if allowed, I will teach him everything I know."

Sarutobi nodded in acknowledgement as he turned to look out the window again. The ANBU, understanding he was dismissed, carefully carried the blond child out of the Hokage's office, heading for the orphanage. Sarutobi took a few more puffs on his pipe before sighing and turning to leave the office himself, heading for the Council Chambers and an emergency meeting of the Konoha Council.

* * *

"The demon should be destroyed!" Uchiha Fugaku railed as he stood, slamming his hands down on the council table. All around him in the council chambers the majority of the other thirty two members of the council present muttered their agreement with this sentiment. The only exceptions were Sarutobi Akemi, Aburame Shibi, and Hiashi Hyuuga. At the head of the table Sarutobi Hiruzen crossed his hands, his face grim.

"The boy will not be harmed. It was Namikaze Minato, your beloved Yondaime's, dying wish that his son be seen as a hero for containing the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It is only logical then, even if the Hokage wishes him to be raised under a different name to protect him from his enemies outside of Konoha, that the child be treated with the proper dignity and respect due to him."

Aburame Shibi spoke calmly. Sarutobi silently thanked the man for being a rare voice of reason.

"But he is the demon. We must kill him before he grows too powerful." Councilman Danzo said, calm on the outside, but with anger and hatred visible in his eyes.

An equally calm on the outside Hiashi Hyuuga spoke up.

"The Yondaime was Konoha's greatest Seal Master, surpassing even Jiraiya of the Sannin in power and skill. His seal will hold. The Kyuubi will be contained. Instead of killing his _son_," and here Hiashi emphasized the word son, driving home the blood relationship between the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and the village's beloved Yondaime, "which would dishonor the memory of the very man who gave his life to save this village, and who used his own son to seal the Kyuubi away, we should instead ensure that the boy is well looked after and is trained well for the day that he is told his true heritage."

It was a well known fact that the Hyuuga Clan and the Namikaze Clan had had close ties, even before the founding of Konohagakure.

"But that monster killed my husband!" Haruno Ume screeched. The pink haired woman was not a ninja like most of the other clan heads, but she was normally a shrewd politician.

"Enough of this!" Sarutobi blinked as his daughter Akemi slammed her hands down on the table, standing as she did so. "The Yondaime Hokage made his final wishes known, and my father, who you asked to take up the mantle of Hokage again, has made them into law. There is no more need for discussion. The child will NOT be harmed."

The reigning Sarutobi clan head turned to face her father, her face more collected. When she spoke her voice was calm and formal.

"Hokage-sama, the Sarutobi Clan formally requests that the Hokage pass a law protecting Uzumaki Naruto, son of Namikaze Naruto and heir to the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans."

Sarutobi was pleased that his daughter knew him so well. He was also pleased to note that Hyuuga Hiashi and Aburame Shibi had both stood in support of his daughter's request. As the three looked around at their peers slowly others stood. Sarutobi saw the Ino-Shika-Cho trio stand almost immediately, followed swiftly by the representatives of several other major clans, including the Inuzuka, Kuroda, and Yakushi clans.

Finally those who were going to stand had stood, and those who remained sitting glared around angrily at their standing comrades. Uchiha Fugaku suddenly grinned. Of the thirty three clan members present, sixteen had stood in support of the motion, and seventeen had remained seated in opposition. So why was the Hokage smiling.

"So, we have sixteen in favor of protecting Uzumaki Naruto, and seventeen in favor of his execution. Even if the final decision in this matter was not mine and mine alone," the Hokage made eye contact with several members of the council before he continued. "I happen to have in my possession the wills of both Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, as well as a signed affidavit by Hatake Kakashi, who is currently performing a duty for me. Kakashi's affidavit grants his vote for any measures brought to a vote during this session of the council in favor of the Sarutobi clan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused as he let that fact sink in. He saw several members of the council shrink as they realize he had just tied the vote. After a few seconds he pushed forward copies of two large scrolls, using a variation of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu place a temporary copy in front of everyone at the table.

"The wills, as you can see for yourself, are authentic, and detail that, in the event of their deaths, who shall carry the votes for clans Uzumaki and Namikaze until Naruto reaches his majority."

Sarutobi grinned in satisfaction as Fugaku Uchiha and Danzo both dropped their heads in defeat.

"So, as you can see, your desire to execute the child of the Fourth Hokage, who has committed no crimes, would never have passed, even if I would have allowed an actual vote to take place. Now, there is a matter to discuss."

Sarutobi removed a simple document from his robes and replicated it so that everyone in the council room could read a copy.

"I have already stamped this and filed it with the official archives. This law hereby makes it illegal for anyone to tell anyone that the Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto Uzumaki who is not already aware of this fact. It also makes it illegal to tell them about this law as well. The only exceptions to this rule are the sitting Hokage and Naruto himself. The sentence for breaking this law…"

Sarutobi leant forward and crossed his hands before him, his face serious, his eyes cold.

"Is immediate execution."

Sarutobi heard the council gasp at this. Silently, Sarutobi prayed that this measure would be enough to allow the boy to grow up happy.HH

* * *

**October 10****th****, Six Years after the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Naruto Uzumaki ran. He ran through the streets of Konoha faster than he ever had before.

"Stupid stupid stupid." He muttered breathlessly to himself as he ran, his clothes cut in several places, blood evident on the edges of the cuts.

Naruto knew better than to go outside on the 10th of October. It was his birthday. It was also his least favorite day of the year. For as long as he could remember the hatred that the villagers seemed to show him was always magnified on the anniversary of the Day of the Kyuubi. They didn't just glare at him and avoid him and charge him outrageous prices for spoiled food. They tried to kill him. So for the last four years Naruto Uzumaki had stayed inside, locked his door, and prayed they were too scared to attempt to break into his home.

But this year he took the risk, and now he was paying for it. The day before, the day he normally celebrated his birthday, he had met someone special. She was cute, with nice pink hair and a big forehead.

* * *

**Flashback**

He had met her while he was in the park. He had been running because he had pulled a prank on one of the annoying shopkeepers who always ran him out of their shops for no reason. He promptly forgot his joy over pulling off a successful prank though when he saw her.

She was kneeling on the ground crying as a group of kids stood around taunting her, making fun of her forehead. Naruto's first instinct was always prank first and ask question later when he saw someone being bullied. He knew what it was like to have people dislike you for something you had no control over, though in his case he still had no idea why they had originally hated him.

Thinking quickly he pulled out a pair of water balloons and tossed them towards the two girls who seemed to be the ringleaders of the abuse.

SPLASH SPLASH

Sakura looked up at the sudden sound to see that Katsumi and Kazumi, the two ringleaders of the girls who always tormented her and taunted her for her big forehead, we soaking wet, with bits of orange rubber clinging to them. Behind her she heard the lilting sounds of a young boy laughing. For a second she thought he was laughing at her, but then it dawned on her that he was laughing at the two soaked girls.

Turning her head she saw a young boy, wearing nothing but bright orange. He was bent over holding his stomach in laughter, but in his free right hand she could see he was holding an orange water balloon.

"Y-y-y-you brat! Why the heck did you do this!?" Katsumi yelled, glaring angrily at the young boy.

Naruto stood up fully, still grinning. He shot the fallen girl a genuine smile before focusing his gaze on her attackers again.

"You know, you shouldn't gang up on someone. It isn't nice."

Naruto began tossing the water balloon lightly into the air, catching it again each time it fell. His grin grew just a little more feral. As he stepped closer Sakura noticed the strange scars on his face. They made him look kind of exotic. She instantly felt herself blushing faintly.

_Kami, could this…could this be my first crush? _She thought quietly.

_**Shannaro!**_Inner Sakura cried out.

Sakura's own surprise at hearing her own voice speak in her head was promptly forgotten as Naruto flicked his arm forward, the water balloon speeding forward and slamming into a third girl with a wet slamming sound. The girl nearly fell over in surprise. Most of the girls stumbled backwards, abandoning the ringleaders as none of them wanted to get wet. The festival was tomorrow and they didn't want to be grounded for coming home wet.

"Why don't you girls run on home to your mommies. You are obviously too scared to do anything when someone stands up to you."

Naruto stopped and swiftly tossed another two water balloons at the ringleaders. The two stood stock still, disbelieving that anyone would dare insult members of the Uchiha clan, much less attack them.

SPLAT SPLAT

The two balloons Naruto had thrown had been special. They were filled with honey.

"Ewwww1!"

Twin high pitched shrieks rang out as Katsumi and Kazumi were drenched in the sticky substance. Crying they turn and ran off.

Naruto watched them go, grinning, until they disappeared around a group of trees.

"Um, thank you."

Naruto turned to find the girl with the pink hair standing and bowing in front of him.

"It was no problem. I really don't like it when people gang up on someone to abuse them. People have been doing it to me my entire life." Naruto said, blushing slightly and scratching the back of his neck absentmindedly.

Sakura blinked.

_People have been picking on this guy? But he seems so nice._

_**And he's cute!**_ Inner Sakura added, causing Sakura to blush again.

"Thank you. I'm Sakura." She smiled as she said this. "Haruno Sakura."

Naruto smiled back her, a wide, open smile.

"Nice to meet you Sakura-chan. I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura blushed again.

That was how they had first met.

* * *

**End Flashback**

The two had talked for a while, until an adult showed up and chased him off, yelling "demon" at him. Today Naruto had left his apartment to go to the festival, hoping he could go unnoticed and maybe find the cute girl again. He had bought one of the masks being sold before the festival, a mask of the Yondaime Hokage, and he wore one of his few outfits that wasn't orange. Everything had gone fine until he finally managed to stumble on Sakura by accident.

She had been standing by a group of adults, most of whom had pink hair like she did, looking nervous. She had on a bright pink yukata, and had a sakura blossom tucked behind her left ear.

Naruto snuck close and whispered in her ear. "Ne, finally found you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nearly jumped at hearing the voice of the cute boy she had met the other day.

"Y-you were looking for me?" She questioned sofly, turning to face him. She could practically see his smile shining through the mask he wore.

"Of course Sakura-chan. I got chased away the other day before I had a chance to ask you if you want to be friends."

Naruto stopped speaking, and after a few seconds Sakura realized he was waiting for a response.

"Yes, I'd like that."

Sakura blushed deeply as Naruto pushed his mask up, revealing his bright smile.

Unfortunately he didn't get a chance to say anything else as nearby someone spotted him.

"It's him, it's the demon! It was all his fault. Get him!"

Naruto didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to Sakura as he leapt away, trying desperately to get away from the mob on his trail.

Sakura watched as he disappeared, wondering why all the adults were chasing after him like he was some sort of monster.

Now Naruto had been evading the mobs for over three hours and night had fallen. He stopped in the dark alley and bent over, catching his breath. A sudden crinkle of paper caused him to look up. In front of him in the alley stood a tall hooded figure. Before Naruto could move to escape the figure performed a quick handseal and spoke quietly.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu."

Naruto screamed as he felt himself being burned alive as the fireball engulfed him. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the eyes of his attacker. They were red, with three black tomoe spinning in them.

* * *

**Hokage's Office, Three Hours Later…**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not pleased. Sitting in front of him were three Konoha Shinobi. One held barely restrained fury in check by clenching and unclenching her fists continually. One showed no emotion on his face, but Sarutobi could tell the man was angry. The third sat nervously between the first two, his ANBU mask sitting in his lap.

Finally, after letting the third shinobi stew for long enough, Sarutobi spoke.

"I trust you know why I asked you here." It wasn't a question.

Morino Ibiki nodded, his face grim. Mitarashi Anko growled. And the unmasked ANBU swallowed.

"Earlier this evening Uzumaki Naruto was brutally attacked. He was found by ANBU after having been burnt in an alleyway. Luckily for the ANBU who didn't even learn about the attack until _twenty minutes_ after he had been lit on fire Naruto has survived, and is resting in the Konoha General Hospital. Unlucky for you, however, I have been informed that this was not the first time his guards have been 'late' showing up to intervene when the boy was attacked."

Sarutobi frowned as the man began to frantically try to explain why his men were occasionally 'late' getting there. After about a minute of hearing excuses Sarutobi shared a look with one of the many ANBU who were flanking the man.

"Enough. Kamizuki Saragasa, as I am sure you are aware, having received all records relating to this assignment when you replaced Hatake Kakashi, the ANBU were late only once while Kakashi was in charge of his protection. The man who was late showed up only _after_ Naruto had been beaten by a group of drunken villagers. Do you know what happened to that man, Saragasa?"

Saragasa swallowed and shook his head no. All his records showed was the man had been pulled from duty.

Sarutobi leaned further forward. "He spent the next year as Ibiki and Anko's plaything."

Kamizuki Saragasa had only been this scared one other time in his life. When the Kyuubi no Kitsune had been about to step on him. Unfortunately for Saragasa, he would not be saved by the Yondaime this time.

His fellow ANBU dragged Saragasa out of the room as he cried and begged the Hokage to have mercy. Ibiki followed still frowning. As the doors to the office closed behind Ibiki Sarutobi turned his attention to Anko.

"So what is this request of yours Anko?" Sarutobi asked, taking a puff on his pipe to calm his nerves.

Anko grinned as she leant forward. Sarutobi hated it when she grinned like that. It always meant tons of paperwork for him.

* * *

**Konoha General Hospital, Two Days Later…**

The first thing Naruto became aware of was a bright blurry light. Then slowly figures began to take shape. He blinked.

Naruto was laying in a bed in the Konoha General Hospital. His entire body was wrapped in bandages and he was hooked up to several monitors. Glancing around the room quickly Naruto noted two ANBU standing by the door, and a third ninja lounging in a chair next to the window, absentmindedly chewing on some dango as she looked out at the sun, bored out of her skull.

"Ugh, I feel like I was run over by a truck." Naruto muttered as he tried to sit up. Every part of him felt sore. Then he remembered what had happened before he passed out and suddenly he was trying to tear off his bandages. None of the ninja were fast enough, but they were all shocked when within seconds a very naked and very healed Naruto was standing before them.

Looking down at himself Naruto muttered. "Well, at least the damage healed."

"Hey gaki, you should get some clothes on."

Naruto looked up. The source of the voice was the dark haired kunoichi who had been eating the dango. She wore a tan trench-coat, a miniskirt, and a mesh top, and she wore a Konoha hitai-ate proudly displayed on her forehead.

"Huh? Why? I'm in a hospital room not in public." Being six years old Naruto had no concept of modesty.

Naruto had expected the woman to get angry with him, as most adults did. He was surprised when she instead started laughing and turned to one of the ANBU.

"Haha, I like the gaki, Kakashi. I think he and I will get along just fine."

Naruto's curiosity at what this strange woman meant was instantly forgotten as he realized who she was speaking to.

"Kakashi nii-san!!"

Naruto practically dove at the ANBU in the inu mask, nearly knocking him over. The ANBU chuckled.

"It's good to see you too Naruto. When I heard that the ANBU assigned to guard you had mysteriously lost track of you I tried to track you down, but someone else got to you first."

Kakashi grinned behind his mask he hugged Naruto back. As much as he attempted to cultivate a cool and collected exterior he had always had a soft spot for his sensei's son. The little boy, prankster that he was, had the same openness and honest love of life as his old teammate Obito, and he had sworn to nurture that in him in honor of his dearly departed friend and sensei.

Naruto hopped off Kakashi, frowning.

"Kakashi sensei, I didn't really get a good look at whoever did this to me. Did ANBU catch them?"

It was the kunoichi who answered the little gaki's question.

"No. I actually caught him performing the Goukakyu on you, but I had a choice between going after him and trying to save you. I think you'll agree that I made the right choice choosing to save you, gaki."

She grinned at Naruto. To Naruto, her grin was unnerving yet at the same time comforting. Naruto smiled back for a moment and then frowned.

"Well, I did see one thing about him. He had these really strange eyes."

Anko and Kakashi both straightened up. Altered eyes were rare, and usually meant a doujutsu.

"Naruto…do you think you coukd describe that person's eyes to me?" Kakashi asked hesitantly.

"Yup." Naruto said as he plopped down on his bed. "They were red and had three black dots spinning in them."

Kakashi and Anko both shared a look, both of them frowning. After a second Kakashi removed his mask, revealing his hitai-ate to be pulled down over his left eye.

"Naruto, if you saw this man's eyes again, do you think you could recognize them?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup. I've never seen anything like them before."

Kakashi sighed and pulled his hitai-ate up. When he opened his left eye Naruto gasped and scrambled backward on his bed. Kakashi's eye was red, and three black tomoe were spinning in it.

"Naruto-kun, did your attackers eyes look like this?"

Naruto nodded from behind the bed.

Kakashi sighed and pulled his hitai-ate back down over his eye.

"It's ok Naruto, you don't need to be afraid. This eye was transplanted into me during the last war with Iwa from my dying teammate at his request. It is a kekkai genkai of his clan."

Kakashi saw the second ANBU perform a hand signal and he nodded. In a gust of leaves the ANBU was gone, off to report to the Hokage that the attacker had been identified as an Uchiha.

* * *

**The Hokage's Office, One Hour Later…**

"What!?"

A healed and energetic Uzumaki Naruto sat in the Hokage's office, sitting between Mitarashi Anko and Hatake Kakashi. He was currently staring at Sarutobi in disbelief.

"What do you mean Anko is going to adopt me? I thought everybody but you and Kakashi nii-san hated me?"

Hiruzen Sarutoi sighed. It was times like these that made him regret what he had had to do to protect Naruto. And it seemed that even the measures he had taken were not enough. Not if a member of the Uchiha clan had taken the risk of attempting to murder him.

"While yes, most of the people in this village may have hatred for you in their hearts, you must understand that it is in no way your fault."

Naruto frowned. "Then why do they hate me?"

Sarutobi sighed. He had been hoping to have this talk when the boy was a few years older. Before he could speak Anko spoke up.

"Before you try to tell Naruto a little white lie to make his life easier, you need to understand that I'm only adopting the gaki if he is told the truth."

Sarutobi looked to Kakashi for support, but finding none he sighed.

"Naruto, before I begin, I need you to understand that I did what I thought was best and safest for you at the time. Six years ago, on October 10th, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spent the next hour explaining to Namikaze Naruto his true heritage, and about the demon he kept locked safely away inside of him.

* * *

AN: Well, here is the start of my second Naruto story. For those who are following along with Phoenix Rising do not worry, I still intend to have the next chapter of that up by friday. But I've been mulling this idea around for a while and I finally decided to run with it. So, I sat down this evening and cranked out an entire chapter. I hope you all enjoy, and please remember to read and review.

PS: I had two titles considered for this, and I went with one. I leave the other hear for you to see, as I am curious as to which my readers think is better. Konoha's Golden Serpent.


	2. Chapter 2: A Legacy Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 2: A Legacy Revealed

**October 12****th****, Six Years after the Day of the Kyuubi…**

In the heart of Konoha sits a large clan estate, one of the three largest in the city. Situated between the clan compounds of the Hyuuga and the Akamichi, it had been locked and sealed for the last six years, and relatively empty for several years prior to that. Now Uzumaki Naruto, recently informed that he is also Namikaze Naruto, stood in front of the sealed gates, gates that had not been opened since the Yondaime's death six years ago.

Standing with him were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hatake Kakashi, Mitarashi Anko, Hyuuga Hiashi, Akamichi Chouza, and a squad ANBU handpicked by Hatake Kakashi and Morino Ibiki.

As Sarutobi unrolled a scroll and placed it against the gates there was a bright flash of light. The gates slowly creaked open as the seals Sarutobi had placed on the compound to protect it until Naruto came of age were broken, leaving only the seals that Minato and his ancestors had layered around the compound, protecting it from intrusion.

"Welcome, Naruto, to your new home." Sarutobi said as he stepped out of the way, waving the young Namikaze heir forward.

Namikaze Naruto stepped forward in awe as he entered his ancestral home for the first time, watched by those who would call him friend.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi took his seat at the head of the Konoha Village Council. He was flanked by a pair of ANBU, as well as by Morino Ibiki, all of whom remained standing. He was not looking forward to this meeting, as he was certain the council would be in outrage once the truth of recent events were revealed to them.

Sitting around the table where thirty five other people, the clan heads or representatives of Konoha's thirty six prominent clans. Nearest the Hokage sat Sarutobi Akemi, Hyuuga Hiashi, Hatake Kakashi, and Mitarashi Anko. Sarutobi could tell from the looks several council members where shooting Anko that they were wondering what Orochimaru's old apprentice was doing sitting at the council, but the only answers they received from her or the others near her was that she was there in an official capacity to represent a clan.

This understandably confused some council members, and worried others, as all currently recognized clans, with two exceptions, were already represented at the table.

Finally Sarutobi spoke.

"As many of you are aware, a young child was attacked and burned alive two nights ago, during the Festival of the Yondaime. If it had been anyone else they would not have survived, but Uzumaki Naruto's regenerative capacity enabled him to survive his injuries."

Sarutobi noted that while many members of the council looked shocked or distressed by this news, far too many had cold looks on their faces, including Danzo and Uchiha Fugaku.

"What you don't know, is that thanks to Uzumaki Naruto we now have an idea of where to search for the attacker. We know which clan he belonged to."

Sarutobi noticed looks of surprise on the faces of most of the council members, including Uchiha Fugaku. Beside him, Mitarashi Anko kept her gaze focused on him, eyes alert for any sign that Uchiha Fugaku was aware of who the attacker had been. After allowing the council to stew for a few moments Sarutobi continued.

"The attacker has been identified, beyond a shadow of a doubt, as a member of the Uchiha clan."

The council chambers were filled with an uproar. The shouts ranged from questions of how did they know this was true to outrage that the Hokage was accusing the Uchiha clan of housing a murderer based off the testimony of the 'demon,' to Uchiha Fugaku's adamant denial that the 'demon' must be lying.

Sarutobi clasped his hands and leant on the table, waiting for the outcry to die down. Behind him, Ibiki and the two hand chosen ANBU watched Uchiha Fugaku like hawks, watching for any sign that the man was aware that the attacker had been a member of his clan. Finally when the outcry had finally diminished Sarutobi spoke again.

"Not only was the jutsu used Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu, which the Uchiha clan is known to favor and excel at, but before he was burned Uzumaki Naruto saw his attacker's eyes. His attacker had the Sharingan, fully evolved."

There was a second round of outcry, but Sarutobi's stern glare silenced the council almost immediately.

"Uchiha Fugaku. As clan head of the Uchiha clan, it is to you I present this order. Every single male Uchiha with the Sharingan is to report to ANBU headquarters for interrogation. Morino Ibiki will preside over this investigation."

Several members of the council stood and yelled, outraged that the Hokage would treat a clan in such a manner, just over the 'demon'. Anko took close count of which clans these were. Uchiha Fugaku however remained sitting.

"As you command, Hokage-sama. The remaining Military Police will arrest and present to the ANBU any member of the Uchiha clan who refuse this order."

Uchiha Fugaku did not looked pleased.

"Now, on to other business. As of this afternoon Uzumaki Naruto has been adopted. Until he turns eighteen Mitarashi Anko is his legal guardian. As the boy's guardian, she is also his proxy as head of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans until he comes of age. Thus she, or her proxy, will sit on the council for the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans."

There was again an outcry as members of clans stood, raising complaints over these actions. Sarutobi noted that Uchiha Fugaku, who had once been a supporter of the cries for the child to be killed, was remaining silent.

"Enough! Because of the events of October 10th Uzumaki Naruto has been informed of who his father was. As he now has an official guardian, tasked with raising him and protecting him, Uzumaki Naruto has been granted the name Namikaze Naruto, as is his right, and this afternoon the Namikaze estates were unsealed, returned to the Yondaime's son, as is proper."

This time there were several grumbles, but no one wanted to aggravate the Hokage further on this matter.

"Also, I will be hand picking an ANBU squad to provide protection for Minato's heir, so that events like the night of the 10th will never occur again."

Sarutobi stood up, ignoring the various mutterings about the 'demon', and exited the council chambers, flanked by Ibiki and the two ANBU. As soon as they were out of the room Ibiki stepped up beside him.

"I was watching Uchiha Fugaku closely, Hokage-sama. He was genuinely surprised and dismayed when you announced that it was an Uchiha had attacked the boy. Despite his hatred towards the boy, I believe that he had no involvement in the attack. While I feel he may hate the boy even more after being humiliated like this, I fear the Uchiha responsible has more to fear from his own clan leader than from me."

Given who was telling him this, that was saying something.

* * *

Back in the council chambers various groups of councilors were talking, most muttering about the 'demon' being given status. In one corner of the room Hyuuga Hiashi, Aburame Shibi, Sarutobi Akemi, Akamichi Chouza, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Hatake Kakashi, and Mitarashi Anko stood in quiet discussion.

"So you are to be the boy's guardian then?" Shibi inquired, having not been present during the afternoon's opening of the Namikaze estate.

Anko grinned back at him. While the Aburame leader did not show any reaction, it can safely be assumed that he was as unnerved by her grin as most other people were.

"That's right. But I insisted that Sarutobi tell the boy everything, because I'm not raising the gaki if he isn't aware of his heritage. Besides, I think it will be interesting raising the Yondaime's son. The gaki is gonna be a real lady killer when he grows up though. He clearly got his father's looks."

Anko grinned again. Everyone around her shuddered slightly. They were all thinking the same thing.

_The gaki may have survived being burned alive, but will he survive Anko?_

* * *

**October 13****th****, Six Years after the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Sakura sat on a bench in the park, swinging her legs and looking around. She was hoping to see her new friend Naruto. After the adults had chased him away the night of the festival she had worried about him, but after three days of waiting she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him. She was really starting to worry.

"Hey, big forehead. I thought I told you not to come here again?"

Sakura looked up to find Katsumi and Kazumi looming over her, surrounded by a half dozen of her lackeys. Sakura fought not to cry as the two girls reached out to grab her.

* * *

Half an hour later a young blond girl picking flowers came upon a group of other girls picking on a crying girl with pink hair and a large forehead. She instantly got annoyed.

"Hey, leave her alone!"

Ino stormed up to the girls. When the leaders of the posse tried to confront her she just slapped them hard across the faces.

"You are despicable!"

Yamanka Ino stood raging as she watched the girls run off. After a moment she turned to face the crying girl.

"Hey, I'm Ino. What were those girls picking on you for?"

Sakura looked up, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. In between sobs she answered Ino.

"They Hic pick on me Hic because of my big forehead."

Sakura started crying again. Ino looked at her for a moment before nodding. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pink ribbon she had brought to tie a bouquet together for her mom.

Ino knelt down and tied Sakura's hair up with the ribbon. Stepping back she admired her handywork as Sakura stopped crying.

"There. Just where this ribbon and it will draw attention away from your forehead."

Ino grinned at Sakura as she started smiling faintly.

"Anyways, as I said before, I'm Ino. You wanna be friends?"

Sakura smiled and nodded her head rapidly. She couldn't believe her luck, she had made two friends in one week.

Sakura and Ino walked off together, Ino leading Sakura towards her family's flower shop. No sooner had the two young girls disappeared around the bend than did Naruto appear from the opposite direction, frantically searching around.

"Where is she? I expected I'd be able to find her in the park, I'm sure she must come here often." Naruto muttered to himself.

His search for Sakura was interrupted by the sound of a whistle. Naruto stood bolt upright and then turned around slowly, nervousness visible on his face.

Standing behind him was the imposing figure of eighteen year old Mitarashi Anko, a dark grin on her face as she towered over him.

"We weren't done gaki. We have a lot of shopping to get done before we start your training, and I'll be damned if I'll let you make it take any longer than necessary."

Naruto swallowed as his new guardian picked him up and shunshined away.

That was the closest Namikaze Naruto would come to Haruno Sakura for the next two years.

* * *

**September 2****nd****, Eight Years after the Day of the Kyuubi…**

The entrance to the Konoha Ninja Academy was busy beyond belief. It was the first day of the new school year, and the members of the new first year classes were all excited as they were lead by parents or siblings through the Academy Gates.

As Sakura and Ino walked through the gates together, followed by their mothers, they began taking stock of their new classmates. They saw several Inuzuka in one corner, congratulating a young boy and a young girl for getting into the Academy. They saw a small timid Hyuuga girl being escorted by a young woman with red eyes. They saw Ino's friends Shikamaru and Chouji lounging with their fathers nearby, one pair chowing down on chips, the other pair staring up at the clouds.

Then they saw the Uchiha. Uchiha Mikoto and two of the other Uchiha mothers stood proudly with their children, their poses radiating arrogance. Standing beside them were Uchiha Katsumi and Uchiha Kazumi, who arrogantly smirked at those around them. Standing between the two girls was an equally proud, though not quite as arrogant, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Oh my god!" Ino cried out excitedly. "It's Sasuke-kun!"

As soon as Ino's cry rang out almost every girl in the immediate vicinity who, prior to that point had been too wrapped up in their own families to notice, swamped the small gathering of Uchiha.

Uchiha Sasuke, who's older brother had fled the village a couple years before after murdering his best friend Shisui, was the single most sought after boy their age. Practically every girl their age in Konoha had a crush on him.

"Whah! Ino, where are you going!?" Sakura yelled after Ino as she ran towards the crowd of girls swamping the Uchiha.

Sakura crossed her arms and sighed. She had tried to see what Ino saw in Sasuke, but for the life of her she couldn't see it. He was aloof, rarely smiled, and always seemed to be brooding over his brother's betrayal of the clan. No, every time she tried to look at him, or any boy for that matter, as a possible romantic interest, one person's image kept overlaying itself in her mind.

Happy, bright, cheerful, kind, caring. Naruto had represented everything she wanted in a guy, and even though she hadn't seen him in nearly two years she still had hope that she would see her first true friend, and her first and only crush, again.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" A tall Chunin with a red bandanna wrapped around his head called out from the entrance of the building. "I am Daigen Hideki, and I am the overseer for all first year students. If you will all follow me, we will get your children checked in and assigned to one of the three first year classes."

Hideki turned and entered the main Academy building. The crowd of parents and students swiftly followed. As the last trailing family entered the building two more figures arrived on the Academy grounds, flanked by a pair of ANBU.

The taller of the two figures was a dark haired woman. She was dressed in a mesh shirt and a miniskirt, covered by a tan trench coat. Her hitai-ate was firmly tied to her forehead, and around her neck dangled a small necklace with a gold flame charm on it.

The shorter of the two figures was a young blond boy, about seven or eight years old, with blue eyes and three whisker-like scars on each cheek. He wore black pants with orange stripes down the sides, black sandals, and a mesh shirt. Over this he wore a tan trench coat, but unlike the woman his had a motif of flames on the bottom of it, similar to the cape the Yondaime Hokage had been known for wearing. His spiky blond hair was kept mostly in check by a black headband with a gold flame symbol on it, and around his neck a necklace similar to the woman's dangled.

"Well gaki, this is it. Time for you to shine." Mitarashi Anko said, grinning down at her son.

Naruto grinned back up at her.

"Of course mom. Just remember, just because I'm in the Academy now doesn't mean you are getting out of training me." Naruto's grin deepened as Anko started laughing.

Still laughing and grinning the pair entered the Academy.

* * *

Hideki's speech had been informative, but relatively boring. By the time he had finished most of the new students were anxious to get to their classrooms and meet their new classmates.

When he finally released them to go to their assigned classrooms there were two types of behaviors displayed. The first was those students who immediately rushed out of the room, racing to find the classroom they had been assigned. The others were taking their time, giving their families one last hug before they followed the first group.

Namikaze Naruto fell in the first group.

"Don't be too much trouble for your teachers gaki." Anko said as she hugged her son. "We don't want to give the teachers heart attacks too quickly after all."

Naruto grinned back up at Anko as she let him go, his grin a perfect match of hers. If anyone who knew Anko had seen it they would have run for their lives.

Naruto turned and ran out of the auditorium, heading for classroom 1-A.

* * *

"Squee!! It's Sasuke-kun Sakura!! He's in our class!! This is so awesome!!" Ino cried out. Sakura just cried.

Following Sasuke into the room were Katsumi and Kazumi, her perpetual tormentors. Thanks to Ino, Sakura was safe from the two girls when she was around. But the evil little girls practically stalked Sakura at times, waiting for her to be alone so that they could pounce.

Sakura put her head down on her desk.

_Why can't Naruto be here? I miss him._ Sakura thought despondently.

_**Shannaro! Naruto needs to get back here so he can be ours!**_ Inner Sakura replied with more energy.

Because her head was down on her desk she failed to see when Namikaze Naruto entered the room, looked around, and then walked up the steps to take an open seat at the back of the room. She also failed to notice the muted mutterings that began around the room as the few people were paying attention recognized the blond boy. A Hyuuga girl with pale lavender eyes blushed as Naruto walked past her, while a bulky Akamichi boy handed him a bag of chips as he passed by, grinning.

After a few more minutes the door to the classroom opened and in walked a relatively young Chunin. He had a distinctive scar across the bridge of his nose and brown pineapple-spiky hair.

"I am Umino Iruka, and I will be your teacher this year here at the Academy."

All the chatter ceased as soon as Iruka began speaking. In the back of the room a blue-eyed blond began sizing his new instructor up.

"This year we will be focusing on the history of the shinobi lands, the basics of taijutsu and weapon use, as well as more customary subjects such as math and science."

Iruka heard a few scattered mutterings at the last part of his statement.

"Now, why don't you all stand up and introduce yourselves. Tell us a little bit about yourselves. How about…you."

Iruka was pointing at a young boy with a hairstyle similar to his. The kid looked up from his desk with a bored look in his eyes and muttered "troublesome" before he stood up.

"My name is Nara Shikamaru. I like clouds, sleeping, and shoji. I dislike people who wake me up." Shikamaru sat down as soon as he finished and placed his head back down on his desk.

The introductions went around the room while Naruto sat patiently in the back, paying attention to the details of his classmates. He would need to be 100 aware of his surroundings in order to pull his pranks off most effectively.

Finally the introductions reached a girl with pink hair who Naruto could tell was a Haruno. Seeing her, he was reminded of the events that had lead him to learning who he really was. He shuddered involuntarily as his mind briefly remembered the horrible sensation of being burned alive.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like pink things, nice people, and a certain boy I met two years ago. I dislike people who are mean to other people for no good reason."

Naruto's jaw dropped in disbelief at his luck. Two years he had been trying to find her, and now his first true friend ended up in his class. It was too good to be true.

_But wait, she said she likes a boy…_ Naruto instantly became depressed as he figured that meant he didn't have a chance of catching her attention again.

_I KNEW IT! I knew I should have pushed harder when the Haruno clan refused to let me speak with her._

Naruto spent the next several minutes so depressed that he didn't hear when it was his turn.

"Naruto…Naruto…NARUTO!!" Iruka's shout caused Naruto to practically jump out of his seat in confusion.

"Naruto, will you please introduce yourself?"

Naruto blinked before he realized where he was. Collecting himself he stood up, thereby giving the girls in the class a clear view of his bare chest through his mesh shirt.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto. I like training, ramen, dango, my adoptive mother, and learning new techniques. I dislike people who pick on other people for no good reason, and people who insult me or try to kill me."

Around the rumor hushed whispering began as soon as Naruto said his name. Those he could hear were talking excitedly about having the Yondaime's son in their class.

Sakura practically blanked out after she turned to see who was speaking. He was a bit older, and dressed differently, but it was HIM! The boy she had missed for nearly two years.

When Naruto finished and sat back down he looked out over the class. He saw a number of girls looking between him and Sasuke, probably evaluating which one to go after. He saw several guys, including Sasuke, evaluating him as a possible rival. Whether for girls or in class he couldn't distinguish. Then he caught sight of Sakura staring at him with a blank look on her face. He smiled and winked at her.

Class was put on hold for half an hour as Iruka sought to wake up Sakura after she passed out stone cold on the floor.

* * *

Sakura waited outside the door to classroom 1-A, waiting for Naruto to exit. She feared what he might think of her after two years without seeing her, but she held hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd still be interested in her.

"You better not be waiting for my cousin like all those other girls, forehead. I refuse to allow someone like you to date him."

Sakura turned around in surprise, coming face to face with a glaring Katsumi.

"Why would I be interested in an Uchiha, Katsumi? You are all nothing but arrogant bullies." Sakura replied angrily.

"Oh you little- That's it. Kazumi, Aiko, grab her. We'll teach her what we do to upstarts."

The two girls flanking Katsumi reached out to grab a hold of Sakura as she attempted to back away from them. Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she bumped into someone behind her, momentarily fearing that it was another of Katsumi's lackeys. But the hands that took hold of her shoulders were much too firm to belong to one of the girls in her year, and the way Katsumi and the others had suddenly stopped in their tracks and stared told her that it definitely couldn't be one of their friends.

"Y-your him. You're the Yondaime's son." Katsumi said in a shaking whisper. In her eyes Sakura could see a mixture of awe, lust, and calculation.

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

Sakura nearly fainted again as she realized that it was Naruto who was holding her shoulders to keep her from backing up.

_He's touching me! __**Shannaro!**_

"I'm Katsumi." She said confidently, sticking her hand out to shake Naruto's. "Katsumi Uchiha."

Sakura felt Naruto's hands suddenly tighten on her shoulders. She saw Katsumi hesitate, and the other two girls took a step backwards with confused looks in their eyes. Sakura turned to face Naruto, surprised herself to see him clenching his jaw.

"Did you just say Uchiha?" Naruto practically growled, his eyes cold and piercing.

Katsumi nodded, her confidence shaken. "Yes I did."

Naruto's growl deepened for a moment before he straightened and made a visible effort to calm himself. When he opened his eyes the smile that Sakura remembered from two years ago was on his face as he turned to face her.

"So, Sakura-chan, I'm sorry I haven't seen you in a while, but your clan elders refused to allow me to meet with you."

Sakura blinked, still in slight shock that her crush was actually speaking to her.

"So, this guy you said you liked. Any chance I'll be able to compete with him?" Naruto had a grin on his face, but Sakura could see genuine concern in his eyes. "Or is he the Uchiha-teme in our class?"

Sakura heard three gasps from behind her when Naruto insulted Sasuke. Katsumi started speaking angrily but Naruto pointedly ignored her.

Sakura sputtered for a few seconds before finally finding her voice. Of course, all she could say was the following.

"SQUEEE!!"

And Naruto promptly found himself staring up into Sakura's eyes, a victim of a Sakura's first kiss.

* * *

**June 1****st****, Twelve Years after the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Class 5-A was extremely excited. Today was the day of their final exams, and if they passed they would receive their Konoha hitai-ate and become shinobi of the Leaf.

What had started out as a group of over a hundred and twenty students had been narrowed down to barely more than thirty. There were members of the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans sitting in a row. There were two loud Inuzukas and a quiet Aburame, as well as a soft-spoken Hyuuga girl. There were three Uchihas, clustered together and surrounded by various boys and girls hoping to capture their affection. And then there was a pair sitting quietly in the back of the room.

To the untrained eye it simply looked like the two were studiously working on homework. To those who knew these particular two well, it was just another reason to worry.

Haruno Sakura was one of the smartest students in the class, and excelled in calculations. Namikaze Naruto was one of two geniuses of the shinobi arts in the class, and had a prankster spirit like no other. Add to this the sadistic tendencies he picked up from his adopted mother and you had a devastating prankster. Combine the two, and you get a teacher's worst nightmare.

The two genin candidates had been an official couple for a few months, but they had been extremely close for several years before that. Many girls in the class had vied for Naruto's affections, as he was the sole heir to the Namikaze name and fortune, and to many of the conniving bitches (Sakura's personal petname for them) in the Academy he was the single most eligible bachelor. Even after he and Sakura officially became a couple many girls continued to attempt to steal him away from her. Most notable of these was Katsumi Uchiha, who not only refused to take no as an answer, but seemed to ignore the fact that Naruto despised the Uchiha clan, despite him having repeatedly made it clear to her that he despised her clan, a clan that produced murderers.

Since the suspect had never been caught, Naruto viewed members of the Uchiha clan with attitudes ranging from suspicion to outright disgust. He viewed Sasuke with a healthy rivalry, considering him one of the few Uchiha worthy of his notice as the boy cared more about improving his skills than the vendetta some of his clan seemed to have towards him, and because the boy had been hurt by a member of his own clan, his brother. He viewed Kazumi as a sycophant and he distrusted her with all his might. And was utterly put off by Katsumi's continued advances on him.

Katsumi on the other hand was determined to become the most powerful woman in Konoha, and she viewed snagging the son of the Hokage and a member of the honored Namikaze clan as the first step in that goal. Of course, she never could get Naruto alone, because if he wasn't with Sakura he was with his mom, and even the Uchiha feared Orochimaru's apprentice.

* * *

Thirty students were passed, each of them proudly bearing their Konoha hitai-ate as they exited the Academy into the throng of excited and proud parents.

As Naruto and Sakura exited hand in hand they were both smiling with grins from ear to ear. They had passed, and were now officially Genins of Konohagakure. Seeing his mom standing, a suspicious amount of space open around her, Naruto quickly kissed Sakura on the cheek before dashing off. Sakura giggled when her boyfriend got within a foot of Anko and suddenly the two disappeared. She was well versed in their habits by now, and knew that their idea of celebrating would be a no holds barred sparring match across Konoha on their way home.

Still smiling she sought out her own mother to tell her the good news.

* * *

Within the Konoha business district, in a basement, behind a false wall, lies a hidden facility, abandoned when Orochimaru fled Konoha. Within this facility sits a chamber with a self-regulating stasis pod. Within this pod sits a single large egg. In the silence of the chamber, a room that had not been opened in fifteen years, a single crack appeared in the side of the egg.

* * *

AN: Well, here is chapter 2. I hope you all enjoy it. To everyone who left a review, thank you very much. I'm upping this late at night, so Ill leave my responses to all your reviews at the end of the next chapter. Anyways, next chapter, teams get assigned, Katsumi plots to steal Naruto, and an experiment of Orochimaru's gets loose.


	3. Chapter 3: Serpent's Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 3: Serpent's Kiss

**June 1****st****, Twelve Years after the Day of the Kyuubi**

Two ANBU sat on top of a restaurant in the middle of Konoha. They sat drinking tea quietly as across the rooftops in the distance a pair of Konoha shinobi fought violently as they streaked across the city.

FWOOSH

Two more ANBU appeared behind the first two in a swirl of leaves. Taking the cups of tea the first to proffered they too sat, sipping slowly and watching the fighting in silence.

On the rooftops in the distance they watched as the two shinobi switched from simple taijutsu to using kunai and other weapons.

FWOOSH.

Two more ANBU appeared, blinked, and shrugged before joining their fellows for tea.

After six years, ANBU knew better than to interfere when Mitarashi Anko and Namikaze Naruto were celebrating.

* * *

"Mom! I'm home!" Sakura announced loudly as she set her bag on the couch in the living room as she entered.

"Welcome home dear. How did it go today?" Sakura's mom called back from the kitchen.

Sakura could hear the sounds of her mom baking, her favorite past time when her husband was away on a mission. She smiled and made sure her hitai-ate was tied securely before she waltzed into the kitchen.

"Why don't you see for yourself mom." Sakura said, smirking as she crossed her arms and leant against the door frame.

She knew her mom disapproved of her boyfriend, so Sakura always used mannerisms she picked up from him when she was home, to remind her mom that she needed to just accept that she was in love with Naruto, or as the rest of the family called him behind closed doors, the "demon brat."

The first time she had heard a member of her family call her boyfriend that after Naruto had finally told her about his prisoner the man had spent three weeks in the hospital. The official report said it was surgery to fix a hernia. The family knew it had really been a testicle retrieval operation.

"Oh honey, you pass. I'm so proud of you." Sakura's mother smiled and paused in her mixing to give her daughter a one armed hug.

Sakura smelt peanut butter as scents from the bowl with the cookie mix wafted beneath her nose. She was also pleased to note that her mom seemed to have finally accepted the fact she was with Naruto, since she hadn't gone off on her about imitating him.

"Thanks mom. Are those peanut butter cookies I smell?" Sakura asked with a cheeky grin. Peanut butter cookies were her favorite. They were also Naruto's favorite, but her mother had never given the boy enough of a chance for her to have learned that.

"Yes they are dear. I know you have a date tonight, so I thought I could make yours and Naruto's favorite and you could take them with you for desert."

Sakura blanched.

"Mom, how do you know they are Naruto's favorite?" she asked warily.

Her mom looked up from her bowl with slight confusion on her face.

"I just asked his mother dearie."

Sakura's mom sighed.

"I, well, I ran into Naruto and his mother while I was shopping this weekend, and had a very illuminating conversation. I, I'm sorry I've been so disapproving of you and him. I think, no, I know, that if I had given him a proper chance in the beginning, I'd have seen what a nice boy he really is."

Sakura blinked.

"Mom, are you under a genjutsu or something."

Sakura's mom blinked.

"No honey. Why would you think that?"

"Uh, nevermind."

Sakura spun and exited the kitchen quickly, heading upstairs to take a shower and get ready for her date.

* * *

"Hold still gaki so I can put the damn bandage on. Geez, I'm impressed. Most genin would be wimping out in pain after taking a wound like this." Anko muttered as she bandaged Naruto's forearm.

Sitting on the table next to them was a kunai completely coated in Naruto's blood. Anko had just removed it from Naruto's forearm after Naruto blocked it straight on in order to get a winning blow on Anko in their "celebration."

"But mom!" Naruto whined. "You know I'll be fully healed in less than an hour. And besides. None of those other genin grew up raised by you."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at his mom, but he promptly drew it back as she sliced at it with a kunai.

"Ack! Mom! Careful. I've got a date tonight."

Anko finished tying the bandages around Naruto's forearm and he hopped up out of the chair, spinning his arm a few times to stretch it out.

"Thanks mom. Now I've gotta go get ready. Sakura will expect this to be perfect."

Anko chuckled as her son ran off down a long hallway towards his room.

In the six years since the Namikaze estates had been unlocked Naruto and Anko had settled on a routine. There were thirty trusted servants who had been hand picked by Anko, as well as a twenty four hour a day ANBU squad assigned to guard the compound.

Every week Anko and Naruto would move to a different house in the complex while the servants would begin repairing the previous house and preparing the next house in the sequence.

They had arranged the schedule so that they used the main house, which was a veritable mansion with it's own walls and defensive seals, during major holidays and other events. This was so that they could hold parties during such periods that included, but were not limited to, Naruto's birthday, Christmas, and New Years.

Thus Naruto running off to his room was not a simple few second dash down a hall it might have been. No, this involved Naruto racing through an improvised obstacle course Anko had set up through the house to keep him always on his toes.

No one could ever claim things were never interesting with Anko around.

* * *

Within the Konoha business district, in a basement, behind a false wall, lies a hidden facility, abandoned when Orochimaru fled Konoha. Within this facility sits a chamber with a self-regulating stasis pod. Within this pod a single large egg used to sit.

Said egg was currently scattered in a thousand pieces on the floor of the chamber, along with a large portion of the glass that made up the stasis pod. A trail of fluid lead to a vent, into which a black scaled tail with tiny gold scales dotting it was just disappearing.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto stared into each others' eyes.

They saw passion, and fire, and intensity and focus.

They saw desire to end all desires.

"HAAAAAA!!" They both cried out as one.

SPLAT SPLAT

Sakura blinked. She had barely taken three steps before Naruto's perfect shots had hit her. One smack dab in the center of her chest and one smack dab in the center of her visor.

"Curse you Namikaze Naruto!" She railed as she chased after the disappearing shinobi as he vanished further into the trees, her paintball gun locked and loaded.

* * *

_Water, mold, rodents. The scent of discarded trash and little sunlight._

The small being thinking these turned, taking a new pathway through the vents of the old building it was seeking to escape. Its first priority was food and water. Then it would follow the rest of its instincts.

* * *

Two hours later, hot sweaty and coated with paint, the two teenagers stumbled out of the front gates of X-Treme Ninja Paintball.

They leant against each other, Naruto with his arm around Sakura's waist, Sakura with her head on Naruto's shoulder, and they grinned. It had been months since they had been able to come play paintball, since they had been so busy preparing for the genin exam. So now that they finally had a chance to have a date again, there had been no question as to what they were going to do.

"God Naruto, I can't believe you beat me so badly." Sakura said as they walked slowly towards Ichiraku Ramen.

It wasn't the fanciest restaurant, but the owner and his daughter genuinely liked Naruto, and Ayame had the cutest stories about when Naruto was little. Sakura could sit there for hours and snuggle with Naruto while he ate his favorite food with nary a care in the world. The only thing she liked better were when she could trap him on his couch and have her wicked way with him.

Of course, being twelve meant that that really only involved kissing and a little bit of hand roaming, but still, she had her dirty thoughts at times.

On this particular night the happy couple was unfortunately interrupted shortly before they could reach Ichiraku.

They heard them before they caught sight of them, but unfortunately they didn't have enough time to escape.

Around the corner came Katsumi, Kazumi, and their horde of followers and admirers. While most of them had ultimately dropped out of the Academy after discovering they just didn't have what it took to be a ninja, they still followed Katsumi and Kazumi around like they were goddesses.

"Oh, Naruto dear, there you are!" Katsumi said in her fakey sweet voice. "I've been looking all over for you. My family is having a big dinner tonight to celebrate Sasuke, Kazumi and I passing our genin exams. You would be doing me a great honor if you would be my date, Namikaze Naruto."

Katsumi winked and made a formal curtsey. Naruto fought to keep his disgust from his face. Sakura didn't waste so much effort.

"I'm sorry, Katsumi, but Naruto and _I_ have plans tonight. Maybe next century." Sakura said in a fakey sweet voice herself, sticking her tongue out at Katsumi when she finished.

Without even bothering to wait and see their response she turned and kissed Naruto passionately on the lips. While the girls were distracted in outrage at this action she felt Naruto's grip around her tighten in preparation.

FWOOSH

Katsumi and her posse were knocked to the ground as a vortex of wind formed around Naruto and Sakura, launching them into the air. The girls were too busy staring in surprise and anger as Namikaze Naruto and his girlfriend flew away in a spinning funnel of wind to notice the two grinning blond figures in the alleyway promptly disappear in puffs of smoke.

* * *

Having fed well for several hours, a noticeably larger than when it was born black snake with gold flecked scales slithered slowly through the back alleys of the Konoha business district as the sun slowly set. Despite the coming night the viper was happy, as the weather was nice and warm out, and ground retained the heat well.

Scenting with its tongue it sought desperately for that hint of otherness that it had been born to seek. Suddenly it caught the scent it was searching for. It was faint, but clear.

_He's here…_

Slowly, the black and gold viper changed direction and began heading for more populated areas of the city.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto were currently sharing a meal with their sensei, Iruka. They had run into him on the way to Ichiraku's, and despite his disapproving of their constant pranking escapades in class he still had a soft spot for Naruto.

So now the three were sitting and talking, enjoying a nice meal between friends. Iruka kept making little cracks at Naruto and Sakura about their relationship, and Naruto in turn ribbed Iruka for having a crush on Naruto's mother.

Sakura pretended to sympathize with Iruka when he turned bright red at the mention of Anko.

_**Serves the pervert right! Go Naruto!**_Inner Sakura chanted.

Sakura had developed the secondary personality back when she was always being bullied, but once Naruto had reentered her life she had needed it less and less. Now it only popped up when she actively hid her real feelings on a matter.

The trio were almost done with their meals when a sudden shouting behind them surprised them.

"Gah, it's a monster. Somebody call the ANBU."

All three stiffened and spun in their seats, expecting to see some drunk imbecile pointing at Naruto. When this happened Sakura invariably had to restrain her boyfriend to prevent him from beating the crap out of the offender.

Nearly being burned alive had broken something in Naruto, and it pained Sakura when she saw the pain in his eyes, but she knew that there was nothing she could do except be there for him when he needed her.

But the man who had let out the cry wasn't even looking anywhere remotely near Naruto. Instead, he was fleeing northward in terror, fleeing from a fifteen foot long black viper that was swiftly moving along the street, flicking its tongue out every few seconds.

"It's scenting…" Naruto said softly in wonderment.

Both Sakura and Iruka looked at him in confusion.

"Tasting the air. Its sense of taste and smell far surpass our own. I wonder what its looking for."

As if in answer the snake paused and raised its head into the air, looking directly at the three. Sakura silently cursed not bringing any weapons on her date. Iruka drew several kunai and crouched.

But Naruto merely stood and calmly approached he snake, almost as if in a trance.

"You…I know you…" He said softly as he approached the serpent.

The viper lowered its head until it was level with Naruto's face and the two beings stared into one another's eyes. Suddenly Naruto's eyes went slitted for a moment, and information locked inside his dna and the dna of the viper unspooled in his mind.

Naruto blinked rapidly for several seconds before focusing on the snake before him again.

"Lachesis…" Naruto spoke softly, promptly before collapsing.

As he fell towards the ground Naruto heard Sakura and Iruka's faint cries of "Naruto", just before blackness claimed him.

* * *

AN: And here it is, chapter three. Apologies for it being so short, but I felt this was the perfect point to end the chapter, for which I apologize. I will try to get another chapter done by the end of tomorrow, hopefully substantially longer than this one, and teams really will be assigned. I hope you enjoy it, and please remember to Read and Review.

**Review Responses **- 99 fun, 1 wanting to stuff a moron in a barrel

AlphaDelta1001 - Thanks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Anihilation - Thanks for the encouragement. It's readers like you who actually encourage me to work hard and provide an awesome story.

Jfitzgerald - I'll update when I can, but leaving a review saying update soon does not my writing process speed up. See above review response to understand what does get me working faster.

Kyuubiwolf23 - Thanks for reading. As to the Naruto summoning snakes thing, you'll just have to wait and see what happens.

wolfdiablo - why thank you. That was what I was going for.

alexwill22 - thanks for your opinion on the title. As for the pairing, it's far from my favorite, but it was how I wanted it to occur for my story. Since I have numerous other stories planned that I will get around to eventually, I will have plenty of time to use other pairings.

youngd2506 - let's just say I have my plans with regards to Naruto and snakes, and that the events currently occuring are just one part of that.

tennisdesi91 - thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying it. Hopefully you will continue to enjoy it.

jbalman - I'm pleased.

Zeroni420 - Well here's hoping I don't cliche it too much. Unlike my other current project though this story has much less alterations to the world.

ConnectFire611 - Thank you for your opinion on the title, and your support. This story, like The Phoenix and other projects I have planned, are all going to be pretty damn big. I'm not going to say anything as I really don't want to spoil it, but the ending of The Phoenix has actually already been drafted out, so the story is working towards a concrete end point. Likewise, I will have a target end point drafted out for this story as well before too long.

jbalman - you never have to worry about me posting. These stories will not be discontinued. If they are ever put on hiatus for any reason it is not because I will not continue them, it's because things in my real life are two hectic to work on them at the time. But they will be finished. It may jsut take a while because they are not short projects.

AlphaDelta1001 - Hello again. I hope the twist with the egg intrigues you.

Kamui Nephlite - thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Anihilation - Many thanks for the encouragement. It's my hope to turn these stories of mine into really strong, epic level stories. But if you are interested, I can turn you onto the authors whose stories encouraged me to actually work on my own projects. They will certainly keep you occupied while you wait for more chapters.

davethedark - simply saying update soon won't make it happen any faster my friend. I am after all only human.

SakuraCa - Well I'm glad you are enjoying the story. You don't have to worry about Sakura becoming a Mary-Sue. She still has her own flaws and limitations. Her focus has just been changed.

spider of the leaf - thanks man. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

alexwill22 - thanks man.

dbzgtfan2004 - Glad you approve

Kyuubiwolf23 - here you are man. Hopefully you enjoyed Naruto and Sakura's idea of a date.

Kakuzu's.Emo.Ninja.Fangirl - careful cutie. there are a few other Uchiha's in this story who shouldn't have pointy objects thrown at them either.

avatarofdiscord - while your enthusiasm is encouraging, telling me to update faster doesn't actually speed my writing process up. But for you and those who do keep asking me to update, keep this in mind. I never withhold chapters upon completion. My process is thus. I do a general outline to figure out where I'm going with a chapter. I write the chapter. I go over the chapter, flush out a few sections or even add whole scenes, and look for errors. Then I upload to the site for what I call final editing. This is where the formatting, Disclaimer, Author's note, and final editing of the chapter itself takes place. Two minutes after Final Editing is completed, the chapter is uploaded for your reading pleasure.


	4. Chapter 4: Dreams and Reality

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 4: Dreams and Reality

**Unknown Time, Unknown Place…**

Naruto was floating. All around him was darkness. A darkness so profound that not even the faintest hint of light survived.

He felt nothing. A complete absence of all senses. No sight, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch.

Just nothing.

He floated for what felt like an eternity and yet could have been only an instant.

Finally, just when he thought he was losing his mind, a tiny light appeared in the distance. It was red and glowed faintly, flickering in the nothingness.

Naruto tried to swim towards it, and slowly the light grew closer. As it did a strange world began to take shape around him.

After what felt like another eternity, but could not have been more than mere moments, the world around Naruto changed from nothingness into a jungle, lit by a brilliant blood-red full moon.

He found himself sitting on a rock as the jungle around him was filled with the sounds of wild life.

"Where in the nine hells am I?" Naruto asked of no one in particular.

He was startled as a large white rabbit hopped past him, disappearing into the underbrush. The rabbit had been carrying a pocket watch and wearing a tailcoat. Naruto knew he shouldn't have gone to sleep last night after watching Alice in Wonderland and eating a bean and cheese burrito.

CRACK

Naruto spun. Standing about fifteen feet away from him at the edge of the clearing was a tall, pale, thin man. His long black hair glinted in the moonlight, and Naruto could see that his eyes were green and slitted like a snake's.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" The man spoke, his voice joined by a hissing undertone like a snake.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked warily.

The man ignored his question.

"Yes…a viable candidate. A very viable candidate indeed. The body is strong, the transformation quick. There is only one thing remaining"

Naruto stepped backward as the man's neck suddenly elongated, his jaw unhinged, and he struck forward to bite like one of the snakes Anko kept.

But just before the man could close his jaws around Naruto's neck a golden barrier flashed, blowing him backward.

Naruto blinked and fell backwards in surprise, staring as the man's neck retracted and he shook his jaw out.

"Damn! What the hell was that? That should not have happened. No child's mind is protected like that." The strange man muttered, clenching and unclenching his jaw.

"**That is where you are wrong, intruder.**"

Naruto leapt to his feet and spun around. Behind him stood a ten-foot tall red fox with nine tails. The creature had a spiked golden collar with a seal inscribed on it latched around its neck, and tiny flames flickered around its body and tails.

"**The child's mind is protected by the same power that keeps me bound inside him.**" The fox continued, his voice low and growling. "**Something as weak and insignificant as you could never hope to affect his mind if even I, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, cannot touch it.**"

Naruto scurried out of the way as the Kyuubi advanced, intent on the figure before him. The fox cocked his head slightly when he stopped, standing on top of the rock, looking down on the strange man.

"**You…I recognize this taint. I name you, Orochimaru, and by the power I yet control, I cast you out of this boy. His mind shall never be yours.**"

Naruto watched in shock as the man screamed, his face a rictus of fury and pain as a rush of foxfire rose around him, burning him to ash. A gust of wind arose and the ash was scattered into the night.

Slowly the demon fox turned and faced Naruto, his jailor.

"**So, you are my host. I would say this was a pleasure, but I would be lying.**"

The Kyuubi began laughing, a harsh barking sound that caused several birds to fly out of nearby trees.

Naruto stepped backward, prepared to run if need be. Kyuubi noticed this and chuckled.

"**Relax Kit. I couldn't hurt you if I wanted to. Which trust me, I have, many, many times before.**"

Before Naruto could react Kyuubi dashed forward and swiped at Naruto with one paw.

CLANG

The Kyuubi's paw bounced off an invisible gold barrier with an almost metallic crash.

"**You see? The power of the Shinigami keeps me sealed within you, and prevents me from affecting your mind.**"

Naruto picked himself up from where he had fallen on the ground and shook himself off.

"So what the hell is going on here? Where the hell am I, and who the fuck was that freak with the long neck?"

Kyuubi chuckled again.

"**We are within the landscape of your mind, Kit. Such a vibrant place, so full of life and death. It has almost been worth being trapped within you to enjoy such a paradise of nature.**"

Naruto just stared at the Kyuubi sullenly. Kyuubi chuckled when he saw Naruto's expression before he continued.

"**As to why you are here, it is tied intimately in with who that man was. His name is Orochimaru, and he was one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. What you just witnessed was a construct, part of a strange virus you have somehow become infected by. He was meant to infect your mind as well as your body, to force you to seek out Orochimaru.**"

Naruto blinked in shock before he finally responded.

"What do you mean a virus? You mean that creepy asshole infected me so he could turn me into his servant? What kind of freaky fuck would do that?"

Kyuubi regarded Naruto with one red eye for a moment before replying himself.

"**From what I heard from the snake boss Manda before I was sealed within you, Kit, a pretty fucked up one. He was apparently kicked out of some organization of freaks because he was too freaky.**"

Naruto did not find that hard to believe at all.

"So...if you've gotten rid of Orochimaru's effect, why am I still here?"

Kyuubi's grin deepened and he chuckled.

"**For two reasons, Kit. First, I removed the part of Orochimaru's taint that would take over your mind, but the virus is still altering your genetic code. Your body is still transforming. Second,**"

Kyuubi leaned in until his face was inches from Naruto's. Kyuubi was pleased to see Naruto stared back with confidence, showing no fear.

"**You and I need to have a talk.**"

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"About what?"

* * *

**June 3****rd****, Twelve Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Despite her usually creepy and sadistic behavior, Mitarashi Anko was actually quite caring when it came to her adopted son. She had not left his side once in the two days since he fell unconscious.

Not when an entire squad of ANBU tried to move her so Naruto could be taken to the hospital.

Not when an entire squad of medic-nins came to examine the Namikaze heir.

And not when a now eighteen foot black snake curled up at Naruto's feet, calmly watching over him.

This had at first perplexed and worried Anko, both because the snake was so clearly abnormal as well as extremely intelligent. When she had first tried to ward it off when it had somehow followed Iruka and Sakura when they brought Naruto home to her it had stopped and curled up, its head hovering and staring her straight in the eyes.

When it finally became clear that it did not appear to bear any threat to her and the others she allowed it to approach Naruto, keeping a watchful eye on it still.

She had been amazed when it had slid up beside the unconscious boy and tasted along him, as if making sure he was ok. It had then promptly curled up at his feet and split the time between sleeping and simply watching the sleeping boy.

Of course, while Anko was comfortable around such a clearly deadly snake, most others weren't. Of Naruto's friends, only his girlfriend Sakura had dared being within striking range of the snake.

She had of course been scared to death at first, especially when the snake had slid up beside her and stared her in the eyes. But it left her alone after a few moments, almost as if it had sized her up and found her worthy.

Sakura had spent as much time as she could at Naruto's side, usually spending long hours just leaning over him and staring at his face. She was anxious, worried that if he didn't wake up before team assignments that he would be denied his status as a ninja. Given what they had tried in the past, she wouldn't but it past the village council to try to get Naruto's status revoked over something like this.

So when Naruto suddenly sat bolt upright in his bed, his head collided with Sakura's with a resounding clack, nearly knocking the two teens out.

"Itai!!" Sakura cried as she landed on her butt, rubbing the forming bruise on her forehead.

Naruto on the other hand just blinked as the large snake rose up in front of him.

"Hello Lachesis…" he said softly as he reached out a hand.

Anko and Sakura both stared in surprise as the snake leant forward and rubbed its head against Naruto's hand much like a dog or cat would.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Anko asked, a slight shudder in her voice.

Naruto turned to face his mom as tears threatened to appear in her eyes.

"Of course mom. Why are you crying?"

Anko's answer was to embrace Naruto in a massive hug, holding him tight and crying. Naruto blinked and then turned his head as a second form wrapped him in a hug.

"Hello Sakura-chan."

"Naruto you idiot. I was so worried about you!" Sakura cried as she clung tightly to her boyfriend, her tears soaking his shoulder.

"_Ssssssheee issss good for youssss._"

Both kunoichi turned their heads sharply in shock, to be greeted by the sight of the large snake's head hovering a few inches away from Naruto, its tongue flicking out to taste the air.

Naruto blinked.

"Which one Lachesis?"

"_The smaller female._"

Naruto smiled. Anko and Sakura kept looking back and forth between him and the talking snake. Anko had met summons that could speak, but she had never heard of a natural snake capable of human speech.

"Well I'm glad you approve Lachesis."

For years to come Sakura would swear the snake had smiled at her.

* * *

Two hours, one lecture, and a shitload of ramen later Naruto, Anko, and Sakura were all sitting in one of the lounge rooms off of the main hallway. It was still decorated from the party Anko had planned to celebrate her son becoming a shinobi.

"So, you really spoke to him Naruto?" Sakura asked, a mixture of awe and fear on her face at the thought of meeting one of the most powerful beings in the world.

"Yeah. He tried to intimidate me a little bit, but I've spent so much time around Anko and her snakes I could tell bluster when I heard it."

Sakura snuggled against her boyfriend with his arm around her waist. She was so glad to have him back she was completely ignoring the huge venomous snake Naruto had called Lachesis.

"You really had me worried young man. But I'm proud of you for coming through well." Anko said with mock sterness.

There was a loud ringing sound. Someone was at the front door.

Anko stood with a sigh.

"I'll bet that's Hokage-sama and the others. I sent for them as soon as you woke up. I'll just bet the delay was thanks to the fucking council."

Naruto and Sakura snorted. They boy knew how much Anko despised the council.

Anko disappeared in a leaf shunshin, heading for the doorway.

Naruto and Sakura snuggled for a few moments in peace before a high-pitched voice interrupted their happy moment.

"Naruto-kun!! I'm so glad to see you are alright."

It wasn't the Hokage and representatives of the council. It was about twenty of Naruto's fangirls, all lead by Uchiha Katsumi. Naruto scowled, and he felt Sakura's arms around him tighten.

"I'm just fine, Katsumi. Now will you please explain why you and your posse have barged your way into my house?"

Katusmi feigned being taken aback.

"Oh Naruto-kun, you wound me. I only wanted to make sure that you were all right. Is there anything I can do for you?" Katsumi said in her fakey-sweet voice.

Naruto made a show of seeming to think for a moment. But when he spoke, he had a prankster's grin on his face.

"Lachesis, would you mind showing these lovely ladies to the door?"

Katsumi and the others stared at him, confused by his statement.

They remained confused right up until a large black snake slithered between Naruto and them, it's mouth open and hissing.

"EEEEEKK!! A SNAKE!!"

Most of the girls cried out in terror, turning and fleeing from Lachesis.

In her defense, Katsumi stood her ground, until the snake reached her and reared up, staring her in the eye.

"I am an Uchiha, not some scared little girl. If this was supposed to be a test of my dedication, Naruto-kun, I have clearly proven my mettle."

Katsumi crossed her arms and smirked, her gaze kept on the snake before her.

Sakura scowled at the girl as Naruto smiled, seemingly genuinely.

"Katsumi, have you awakened your Sharingan yet?"

Katsumi looked at him and blinked.

"No. Why do you ask Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled.

"Oh, it's nothing. Lachesis, Muma no Houdo." Naruto said quietly.

Katsumi blinked.

"What was that Naruto-kun.?" Katsumi asked.

Lachesis and Naruto both ignored her as Lachesis began to wave back and forth for a moment, her eyes glued on Katsumi's. Suddenly they began to glow with a swirling red and orange glow, and Sakura saw the same glow appear in Katsumi's eyes.

After a few seconds Katsumi blinked and turned, running from the room screaming in terror. She collided with Anko as she fled, still screaming her head off.

Anko watched the terrified girl flee in amusement before turning back to the two teenagers on the couch. She absentmindedly stroked Lachesis as the large snake slithered past her. She was still surprised by how friendly such a deadly snake could be.

Even the toxic snakes she kept she was careful around, as they could be unpredictable. But Lachesis seemed to be tamer than a newborn puppy.

"Just what did you do to scare those girls so badly Naruto?" Anko asked, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Me?" Naruto said with an innocent look on his face. "I didn't do anything. Most of those girls freaked out when they noticed Lachesis, and the last girl fled after staring at Lachesis for a few seconds."

Anko crossed her arms.

"The truth Naruto."

Naruto grinned back at her.

"Lachesis used a genjutsu on her that made her witness her worst fear."

Anko blinked.

"That's pretty sadistic of you Naruto. I'm impressed." She said with a grin after a moment.

Naruto grinned back up at his mother for a few seconds longer, before Sakura's desires got the better of her and she pushed Naruto down on the couch and started kissing him.

* * *

The Hokage showed up an hour later, and after much convincing Naruto sat still long enough for medic-nins to examine him, and for a member of the Yamanaka to confirm that there was no trace of mental control.

Naruto had had a mischievous grin when Inoichi first witnessed the Kyuubi in his mind, but Kyuubi kept up his end of the bargain they had made and did not interfere with the blond ninja.

Now Naruto sat, surrounded by a squad of ANBU, three medic-nins, the Hokage, and representatives from eight clans. He had wanted Sakura to remain with him, but the Hokage had insisted that this be a closed meeting.

"Yamanaka Inoichi assures me that you are free from any mental influence, or else we would not even be standing here. Namikaze Naruto, in the absence of any evidence that what has been done to you has been detrimental; you are being cleared for active duty. You will report to the Academy tomorrow for tem placement. You will also report to Inuzuka Azumi on a weekly basis to be evaluated. Is that understood?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's look was firm but kind. It carried no malice, just the authority of his position.

Naruto nodded, as did the large black snake that lay draped across his lap. It still made Sarutobi worry that one of his old student's creations was now bound to the heir of the man he chose to be the Yondaime Hokage instead of him, but for now there seemed to be no ill effects. From what Naruto had told him, the seal that kept the Kyuubi contained had also protected Naruto's mind from influence.

"Good. Now as to the second matter, you say this transformation left you with some knowledge of Orochimaru's?" Sarutobi asked after taking a puff on his pipe.

"That's correct Hokage-sama. I believe this was intended to create a hidden agent for him here in Konoha. I suspect I would have more knowledge, but thankfully the seal prevented him from altering my mind. As such, I only have the tiny bit of knowledge that had unspoiled from the genetic memory of the retro-virus."

Sarutobi nodded.

"Good. Well, I will have a directive issued to ANBU to cooperate with you if you use the code-phrase 'serpent's head.' But you are only to use this if an Orochimaru related threat has been found, understand?" Sarutobi looked Naruto straight in the eyes.

The young man nodded immediately in response.

"Very good. Sparrow, Hawk, we're leaving. The rest of you, thank you for coming."

The eight clan heads who had been brought to bear witness that Naruto was in fact fine and unaffected nodded their heads respectfully before turning and filing out of the room.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Naruto a small smile before he left the room as well, smoking his pipe.

Lachesis swiveled her head to stare at her master, who reached out and scratched her idly.

"You did a good job today Lachesis. But we'll have our work cut out for training together if we want to be an effective team on the battlefield."

Naruto stood and removed the bandages covering his right forearm, revealing the black summoning tattoo that had formed thanks to the retrovirus. He stared at it thoughtfully for a few moments before turning and walking out of the room. As he did so he flicked off the lights, dropping the room into darkness as Lachesis slithered after him.

* * *

**June 4****th****, Twelve Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Namikaze Naruto stood at the gates of the Konoha Ninja Academy and took a deep breath.

He hadn't given it much thought the night before, but the virus of that freaky bastard Orochimaru had altered him physically as well as attempting to take control of his mind. This meant that getting dressed in the morning had presented him with a few new challenges.

First of these were his eyes. They had become slightly slitted and taken on a green tint, changing them from their normal blue to a more turquoise color. They were easily taken care of by either wearing colored contacts or sunglasses. Since the colored contacts would take a few days to get he had sighed and chosen a pair of sleek over-the-top triangular red sunglasses. They were a tad bit ostentatious, but he was hoping they would distract people from his eyes.

Next he had to deal with the patches of scales that had formed on his body. He found that their presence reacted to his emotional state, so long as he didn't get too fired up most of them were unnoticeable. Those that were noticeable all the time were on the back of his hands, so he just wore a pair of fingerless black gloves with an orange flame insignia on the back.

Next he wrapped bandages around his right forearm to cover the tattoo that had formed there. He would rather not have anyone questioning such a strange tattoo after all, particularly since he hadn't had it that last time his classmates had all seen him. After thinking for a moment he had also wrapped his left forearm as well. He figured it would make people less curious.

The final major change he had noticed he just couldn't do anything about. Inside his mouth he had grown a pair of fangs like a snake, retracted to the roof of his mouth normally, but capable of swinging down so he could bite someone. He really hated that freaky bastard for this change, and it really creeped him out that his mother found it intriguing.

"_Sssssoo, thissss isss your schoolsss?_" Lachesis hissed from around Naruto's shoulders?

Naruto had been surprised that morning to discover that Lachesis could change her size at will, within limits. He had quickly found it useful as she could shrink herself down to ride on him or be concealed in his clothes.

"Yes, this is he place. Now remember, behave yourself Lachesis. As much fun as it was to scare those annoying fangirls off yesterday, I can't have you freaking out my fellow shinobi all the time."

"_I undersssssstand. I will behavessss._"

Naruto grinned and reached up to stroke the black snake's head. Having finally had time to examine his new partner he had noticed that the mostly black snake had a diamond patterning on her back comprised mostly of golden scales.

"Oh, don't you listen to him gorgeous. You go right ahead and scare those conniving bitches all you want. They deserve it for trying to steal my Naruto-kun."

Sakura snuggled closer to her boyfriend and kissed his cheek.

"Now come along hun. We've got to hurry or we'll be late for our team assignments.

_I swear, if they assign me to a different team than Naruto someone will be suffering a prank war._ Sakura thought as she and her boyfriend walked arm-in-arm towards the entrance to the Academy.

* * *

"Starting today you are shinobi of Konoha." Iruka said, winding down his speech. "I will now announce the teams."

Iruka shuffled some papers.

"Team 1,…"

Naruto zoned out a bit as Iruka began reading off the teams. He was still chuckling over the reactions he had gotten to Lachesis.

Shikamaru had just stared at it lazily before putting his head back down on his desk while Chouji had smiled. Shino had given it an apprehensive look, if any look he gave could actually be called anything other than stoic. Sakura's old-friend Ino had shuddered and put several people between herself and the black snake. The two Inuzuka's had been wary, but also a little intrigued. The three Uchiha had stared at Naruto, Katsumi with fakey love in her eyes, Kazumi with resentment, and Sasuke with a calculating look. Hyuuga Hinata had shuddered and sat down in her seat, scared by the black viper.

_She really is a sweet girl,_ Sakura thought as she snuggled against Naruto, _she's just crushing on a boy who is off the market._

Sakura was hoping the Hyuuga heir would find a new crush, because she would hate to have to hurt the girl.

"Team 7, Uchiha Sasuke, Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura."

Both Naruto and Sakura's ears perked up and they let out a cheer as they heard their names called. Sakura stuck her tongue out at a glaring Katsumi as she sat back down, and for the hell of it winked at Ino as well. She knew Ino was jealous that Sakura was on a team with her precious Sasuke-kun.

"Team 8, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Kazumi."

Sakura was sorry to see Hinata teamed with Katsumi's lap dog, but at least neither of them was teamed with her precious Naruto-kun.

"Team 9 from last year is still in circulation. Team 10, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru."

Naruto chuckled and Sakura glanced at him sideways.

"Later." He mouthed silently to her. Sakura returned her attention to Iruka.

"Team 11, Uchiha Katsumi, Inuzuka Kaede, Aburame Shino."

SLAM

Naruto noticed that Katsumi's head had slammed into her desk when it finally sank in that she wasn't with Naruto.

"Now, you are all dismissed. Return here after lunch to meet your Jounin senseis. Dismissed."

Iruka shuffled a few papers before leaving the room, followed by the other teacher Mizuki.

Sakura noticed that Naruto had been staring at the man intently throughout the class.

"Naruto? What's wrong? I've never seen you look at anyone but an Uchiha that way before."

Naruto frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked hesitatingly, worried now.

He glanced at her sideways as he clasped his hands together.

"Sakura, I'm going to go take a walk. Do me a favor and go pick us up some ramen. I'll meet you on the roof in fifteen minutes." He said softly.

Naruto leant over and kissed Sakura on the lips softly, hoping it would reassure her enough, at least for the next fifteen minutes. Then he stood and walked out of the room, Lachesis sliding inside his trench coat and curling around his left arm.

Naruto caught up to Mizuki outside the teachers lounge about to follow Iruka inside.

"Mizuki-sensei, can I talk to you for a moment?" Naruto asked congenially.

Mizuki paused and smiled.

"Of course Naruto. What do you need?" he asked as he turned around.

Naruto saw Iruka stop and he shared a brief look with him. Iruka nodded and entered the teachers lounge.

"Well, I was just wondering, where did you get that tattoo on your arm?"

Mizuki blinked, slightly surprised.

"It was something my old teacher gave me, but he died before he could finish it. Why do you ask?"

Naruto's answering grin was feral with a touch of the sadism he got from his mother.

"Because I recently received my own tattoo from him, and I didn't realize anyone else he had taught was here still."

Mizuki blinked, taking this in. After a moment he spoke.

"Come with me Naruto. We can speak in private." Mizuki turned and walked down the hall towards an unused classroom.

Unnoticed by him, Naruto performed a quick series of hand seals. On the roof of the Konoha Ninja Academy the ANBU assigned to guard the younger students nearly fell over in surprise as fourty copies of a certain blond haired menace suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"ANBU-san. Alert others, 'serpent's head.' Namikaze Naruto is capturing a student of Orochimaru's. Bring medic-nins and the strongest anti-venoms in stock." One of the clones said, turning to face the man.

With that said forty clones split up, each heading for a different point around Konoha.

* * *

As Mizuki closed the door Naruto took a look around the dimly lit room. Finding no threats he turned around and leaned against the wall.

"So, you've met Orochimaru-sama then. Show me the gift he gave you." Mizuki said, his voice suddenly harder.

Naruto grinned and began unwrapping the bandages around his right forearm. As he did the tattoo there was slowly revealed. When he saw it Mizuki whistled.

_Orochimaru-sama really gave him something special._ Mizuki thought.

"Impressive. But how do I know you got that from Orochimaru?" Mizuki asked, his eyes still glued to the tattoo.

Naruto grinned.

"Lachesis." He spoke softly.

"What was that?" Mizuki asked frowning.

Naruto's grin deepened.

"Strike."

Mizuki dodged the first strike by a fraction of an inch, Lachesis' fangs slicing through his pants.

"Proof enough?" Naruto asked as Lachesis retracted, growing to closer her normal length and wrapping herself around Naruto. Naruto stroked her head softly, his tongue flicking out and turning into a snakish tongue momentarily.

Mizuki stared in shock. Orochimaru had once told him about some of his secret projects that he had left in Konoha, but he never thought he would actually see one, particularly not this one. Recovering himself quickly Mizuki dropped to one knee.

"Orochimaru-sama, forgive me. I did not recognize you without your companion."

Naruto's smirk deepened.

"Pathetic. Why Orochimaru ever chose to teach you I will never understand. Lachesis. Strike."

This time Mizuki wasn't fast enough to dodge the strike, and Lachesis sank her fangs into his shoulder as Naruto watched, grinning coldly.

As Mizuki cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor, the venom already going to work, he managed to stutter out a pained "why?"

Naruto stepped closer so that he could whisper in the man's ear.

"Tick Tock. Orochimaru isn't here teme, and I don't take kindly to those who would betray Konoha."

Naruto's grin grew even colder as he straightened and turned, heading for the exit from the room.

"Better hope the medic-nins get here soon, or there won't be a chance in hell of saving your life."

Glaring at Mizuki with all the hate in his heart Naruto opened the door and turned away from the downed chunin, stalking into the corridor.

Namikaze Naruto headed off to find his girlfriend. Dealing with assholes always made him crave her company.

Back in the classroom Mizuki writhed around in pain as his left arm began to dissolve under the onslaught of Lachesis' venom. A few seconds later three ANBU shunshined into the room.

"Shit." Sparrow said resignedly.

This was going to mean so much paperwork.

* * *

Umino Iruka sat at a desk in the teachers lounge, going over the team assignments the Hokage had just given him.

"I don't know Hokage-sama. Are you sure about rearranging the teams like this?" He asked looking up at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Sarutobi took a puff on his pipe before replying.

"I am sure, Iruka. It is my firm believe that the students will benefit more from being with these instructors. Even if the students themselves might not agree at first." Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled.

Iruka's head dropped.

"Your son isn't going to like being told he's being assigned a different team. He asked for the Ino-Shika-Cho trio specifically." Iruka said resignedly.

"My son needs to be pushed, as do the members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. This arrangement will do that." Sarutobi replied, smiling.

Iruka just shook his head and reshuffled the papers. He was dreading the reaction when he told the new jounin instructors that their team assignments had been changed.

* * *

AN: Here it is, another chapter completed, and this one substantially longer than the last. I hope you all enjoyed it, cuz I had a lot of fun writing it. Just as with my other story, my best friend played devil's advocate to help me set up the teams in a logical manner. Next time you get to find out which jounins get assigned to which team. Please remember to read and reviews. Your reviews encourage me to keep working hard on these projects.

**Techniques**

**Muma no Houdo**--_Nightmare Realm/_ This special genjutsu used by Lachesis causes the victim to envision their worst fear. This causes them to flee in terror. Not useful against stronger willed shinobi. (C-Class Genjutsu) (Lachesis Muta)

**Review Response** - Brought to you by milk. It does a body good.

Jfitzgerald - here it is, hope you enjoyed it.

alexwill22 - well, hopefully this chaptered answered your question.

Kyuubiwolf23 - thanks for the encouragement. I'll do my best.

avatarofdiscord - ah, you've got me there. Still, your explanation counts as a proper review, so it's all good. hehe

yound2506 - nope, the chapter doesn't have to do with a summons. I'll give you a hint though. think about what some of the Konoha nin are known as.

tennisdesi91 - hehe, it was just the perfect cliffhanger, it practically wrote itself. That and it provided the perfect segue into the next sequence.

Kakuzu's.Emo.Ninja.Fangirl - no cutie, it wasn't Sasuke's fault, as you can see by this chapter.

spider of the leaf - I'm glad you are enjoying this so far.

Warper - No need to worry. this is most definitely not going to have SasuHina.

dragonshaun9 - you are closer than you know.

Kraken77 - hehe, thanks for the encouragement.

Power of Insanity - why thank you, I was going for a bit wierd.

Spotlite - glad you are enjoying it. I haven't actually come across a story with anko adopting Naruto myeself, but I also tend to only read stories that really hook me in the first couple of chapters.

Thornspike - You are correct about Lachesis being one of the Moirae of greek mythology. However, while that may be where the name came from for what I took it from, there is no ties to the Moirae beyond that. Lachesis is taken from the binary name of one of the species of snakes who gave its genes to create Lachesis. The species in question is the Bushmaster, _Lachesis muta_, and I chose that as the name because I prefer the sound of it to that of the other two main species who share their genes with Lachesis. Also, the Bushmaster is a pitviper, and the importance of this will become apparent further on in the story.

oushou no yami - here you are, the next chapter, swift and deadly as a snake's bite.

emilbootanimefreak - to answer your question, Naruto's other neighbors are the Akimichi, the clan that Chouji belongs to.

bradw316 - the story is my brainchild. rest assured it will be continued for a long time.

HolyKnight5 - Hopefully this chapter has answered your question successfully.

Bobboky - glad you think so

BlackFang1983 - thanks, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Narutomaniac - With the number of Naruto fics out there, its pretty hard to NOT end up clicheing at some point. As to the other points, the council has power, yes, but it requires a completely unanimous vote of all sitting council members in order to countermand the Hokage's wishes. The Hokage does not always veto their votes though. This control is in place to prevent a corrupt Kage from doing whatever he wants. But rest assured, there was never a chance of them succesfully voting Naruto's execution against the Hokage's wishes. Second, Naruto is indeed powerful, and well trained. He has his father's strength, and his mother's stratospheric skill with ninjutsu.

As to your second review, I don't mind constructive criticism or people pointing out what they think are flaws. I didn't really explain it in detail in the story, but the reason the coupe attempt didn't happen was because after the incident with Naruto being attacked, the Uchiha had to lay low. Even with the power of their vaunted Sharingan, they'd need surprise and planning on their side to win, and with them all under intense scrutiny there was no way they could safely pull it off. As for itachi, I really dont want to spoil anything, but lets just say he has been acting under orders from the Hokage the entire time. Also, even with his power, Naruto is not at the head of the class, and he tends to hold back. Sasuke was one of the highest scoring all around in the entire class, but the fact that of his classmates, Naruto actually gives him a challenge, is why they have a healthy rivalry. this will become a drive to push Sasuke later because of what he ends up seeing that Naruto can do. As for Orochimaru, you've pegged spot on what I have planned with regards to him. But that doesn't mean that his attempts to recruit agents or meddle in konoha will be limited to that. Remember the part with Mizuki well, for a line in that segment foreshadows parts of what is to come.

As to your second review, I know I didn't explain them well, but the paintball guns are little more than tubes with a handle and a hopped, and a special system that channels chakra to fire them. There is a reason the place was called Ninja X-Treme paintball. It was meant to be more anachronistic, particularly since the tech level in the Narutoverse actually seems really archaic in some respects, and in others more advance. As to Naruto summoning snakes, Anko doesn't have the contract with the snakes Orochimaru summons, so Naruto couldn't be signed to it anyways. Whether or not he will be signed to the toads or not you'll have to wait and see. As for Lachesis, as I noted above in my response to Thornspike's review, I am aware that Lachesis was the name of one of the Moirae, and it was chosen as the genus name for a species of pitviper for a reason, because it's so toxic to be bit by it is basically to have Lachesis cut your thread. But in the story, the connection to Greek mythology is merely a coincidence. I chose the name because of the species involved in Lachesis' creation, and because I liked the sound of that name the best. Lachesis' full name is Lachesis Muta, just like the Bushmaster which contributes to her genetic code. (She is a hybrid primarily of the Bushmaster, Black Mamba, Taipan, and Ophiophagus Hanna, or King Cobra. There are genes from other species here and there, but those are the core of the genetics Orochimaru worked with to create this beauty.)

Also, you are incorrect about the proper spelling of Genin. It is spelt Genin, and is comprised of two kanj. The kanji ge, meaning below, low, under, and the kanji nin, meaning conceal, sneak, spy. I can provide you with confirmation on both counts if you require it.


	5. Chapter 5: Introductions and Revelations

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be rich and have millions of fans.

**AN: There is something wrong with ff net tonight that is screwing with my formatting. All "Line Break" indicate a horizontal line breaking up the text, as I normally use. I will try to fix this problem at a later date.  
**

Chapter 5: Introductions and Revelations

**June 4th, Twelve Years After the Day of the Kyuubi...**

Naruto found Sakura sitting impatiently on the roof of the building. She had two steaming containers of ramen beside her, all but forgotten as she tried pointedly to ignore their third teammate, who had followed her to the rooftop.

Naruto had a friendly rivalry with Sasuke, true, but his eyes narrowed as he realized that Sasuke was attempting to flirt with _his_ girl.

Naruto decided to be diplomatic, since he was likely going to have to be teammates with Sasuke for quite a while.

"You wouldn't be trying to pick up my girl, now would you Uchiha?" Naruto asked, hard-edged humor in his voice.

Sasuke had the good manners to look embarrassed as he turned to face Naruto.

"You can't blame a guy for trying, Namikaze. Sakura _is_ one of the best kunoichi in our year, and quite attractive."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

"I know." Naruto said as he walked up to Sakura smirking. "But she isn't with me because I am one of the best. She is with me because we've liked each other since we were six."

Sasuke blinked at that revelation. For all the rumor-mongering that went on in their Academy classes, that was one fact that no one had ever mentioned.

Sasuke just shrugged again.

"Oh well, even if I can't have her, at least I'm on a team with you two. Kami I would hate to be stuck on a team with my cousin. She's such an arrogant teme it surprises even myself sometimes." Sasuke said as he laid back on a bench and stared up at the clouds chuckling.

Naruto smirked and kissed Sakura lightly before taking the container of ramen she had handed him.

"Well, she's always been stuck in her own little world of superiority. You at least got a wake up call from your brother. Otherwise I would never have considered you a rival."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in confusion and blinked.

"What does my brother turning into a murderer have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked in confusion, his eyes narrowed.

Naruto smirked again, his eyes twinkling behind his sunglasses.

"It means that as far as I'm concerned, the entire Uchiha clan, sans you and Itachi, are my enemies."

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? The Uchiha are one of the most prestigious clans in the village, so why the hell would the Namikaze view them as enemies?"

Sasuke was starting to get angry now, but Naruto still showed no hint of dark emotion on his face, nor allowed it into his voice. Sakura's hand on his arm squeezed slightly.

"It's really quite simple, Uchiha. A member of your clan tried to kill me six years ago. By burning me alive. If it wasn't for a special power I've had since birth"

Sakura snickered at Naruto's bending of the truth.

"I'd have died in that inferno. But instead I survived, and my legacy was revealed to me by the Sandaime. Since then I have viewed all Uchiha with disgust and caution. The only exceptions are Itachi, who I had met several times before he killed his cousin and fled Konoha, and you."

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, smirking at the shocked look on the Uchiha's face.

"And you are an exception only thanks to your brother. I know your brother told you that the arrogance the Uchiha clan holds, their superiority, will only lead to conflict with the rest of the village, and that it will be their downfall. And I know that your attitude has been different than other Uchiha. Otherwise I wouldn't have given you a second thought when we first met, and just considered you an enemy too."

Sasuke, who had stood in shock at the revelations, sat down, hard.

"How...how do you know what my brother said to me that night Namikaze? How the hell do you know?!" Sasuke's fists were clenched and shaking. He had never told anyone the words his brother had spoken to him that night.

Naruto's smirk left his face, and his voice darkened.

"Because my mother and I helped smuggle him out of Konoha. I know far more about what happened that night than you do. I know why Itachi killed his cousin Shisui, and I know the real reason he left Konoha. He told us when we helped him make good his escape."

Naruto took a breath for a moment and noted that Sasuke's fists had unclenched, and he had a look of surprise and thoughtfulness on his face.

"And you can tell no one about this Uchiha, because if it gets out that Itachi revealed his mission to anyone, our lives, all of our lives, will likely be forfeit to cover up the secret."

Sasuke's look became grim as he closed his eyes and absorbed everything he had just been told.

When he didn't open his eyes or move after a few seconds Naruto shrugged and opened his ramen, joining his girlfriend in enjoying one of his favorite foods.

**Line Break**

Morino Ibiki sat in his office, contemplating the news that he had just received. Less than a day after he had been commissioned, one of Ibiki's agents had managed to discover and disable one of Orochimaru's spies. Ibiki wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself.

The Konoha Ninja Academy was considered a prime target for enemy attack, and since he became head of ANBU's interrogation division Morino Ibiki had instituted certain precautions. He had a full-scale surveillance system installed, as well as tripling the ANBU assigned to perimeter guard.

Thus, when Namikaze Naruto had confronted Mizuki, Ibiki had been able to watch the entire confrontation. He had to admit, this punk kid of Anko's had certainly picked up her skill in torture. The venom he had injected Mizuki with had left the blue-haired chunin more than willing to sell out his master.

Grinning, Ibiki closed his computer and stood, exiting his office flanked by a pair of ANBU as he went to begin the interrogation of Mizuki.

**Line Break**

When they returned to their classroom after lunch they found that they were the last ones to arrive. Most of the other teams had already gathered in little groups, although Naruto was pleased to see that the remaining open spot in the back of the room was nowhere near Team's 8 or 11.

As the members of Team 7 walked up the stairs towards the back Naruto and Sakura glanced to the side, taking stock of the dynamics forming amongst the other teams. After noticing their behavior Sasuke joined in as well.

They saw that the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were lounging by the windows, with Chouji eating chips, as usual, Shikamaru watching clouds, as usual, and Ino being bossy, also as usual.

Sakura snickered.

Ino may be her best friend, but she wouldn't have wished the bossy chick on anyone.

Behind them they saw Team 8, with Kiba blustering loudly. They noticed that Hinata seemed a little sad, while Kazumi, ever the sycophant, was playing to Kiba's ego.

Naruto liked the dog-user, he had even joined him and Sakura on some pranks in the past, so he made a note to warn Kiba about Kazumi's devious nature. He wouldn't wish one of the two Uchiha kunoichi on anyone, even his worst enemies.

On the other side of the room he noticed the ever-silent Shino appeared to be trying to ignore his two teammates, who were arguing over dominance like a pair of Inuzuka pups. Kaede had proven to be an eminently capable kunoichi, but her ability to focus in class had cost her, leaving her dead last in the rankings. Katsumi on the other-hand had done everything she could to ensure she had the highest scores in the entire class.

Naruto and Sasuke could both have beaten her, but they both cared more about training and learning jutsus than bookwork, so their test scores were merely average at best.

Finally they reached the empty seats in the back of the room and settled in. Sasuke noted that his two teammates immediately removed books from their pockets that seemed to be filled with calculations and diagrams. Curious, he leant over to take a look.

"What's that you've got there Namikaze?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Naruto's face lit up with a prankster's grin.

"These are our prank books. My mom taught me a jutsu that binds them together, so what is written in one appears in the other. We use these to plan out all the pranks we've pulled over the years. Like that time Katsumi's underwear appeared hanging from the ceiling."

Sakura chuckled loudly at the mention of that prank. It had taken three months of research and practice, but she and Naruto had finally gotten the jutsus needed just right. The end result had been forcing Katsumi's underwear to air-shunshin up to hooks the two pranksters had stuck in the ceiling the night before.

Sasuke just blinked. "That was you two!? The entire Uchiha compound was in an uproar for a week over the stain on Katsumi's honor that had been made. How the hell did you two wiggle out of getting punished for that?"

Naruto smirked, but Sakura put her hand on his arm. Turning to face her Naruto saw that she was grinning, so he nodded and let her explain.

"Well, it's simple really. No one had any proof that we were involved, and I mean, come on, have you ever heard of someone forcing another object to shunshin without using a kawarimi? Add to that the fact that even if the Uchiha had accused us of the prank, the Hokage would have dismissed the accusations out of hand. After all, your clan _did_ try to kill Naruto. No, your father, Fugaku, likely stopped the clan from raising any actual issue over it in order to keep them from getting in more trouble for scurrilous accusations."

Sakura grinned triumphantly as she leant back in her seat. Sasuke just blinked.

"Damn. You guys really are good. But then why is your bookwork only so-so?" Sasuke asked, confused on how they could be so brilliant with pranks and not excel in class.

Naruto smirked.

"Because we spend all our time training and pulling pranks, that's why."

Sasuke snorted and sat back in his seat. At least his teammates were skilled.

The students spent the next half hour just relaxing and chatting before Iruka entered, followed by the first of the instructors. Teams 1, 3, and 4 all left with their teachers, lowering the noise level decidedly.

About ten minutes later another batch of instructors arrived, drawing a gasp of surprise from Naruto.

"Mom!! What are you doing here!?"

Everyone in the room stopped their discussions and turned to look. Sure enough, standing with a group of two other instructors, was the feared Mitarashi Anko, ex-apprentice to Orochimaru of the Sannin, known to her enemies as Serpent's Fang.

The entire class instantly shuddered and crossed their fingers, hoping to Kami that she wasn't their instructor.

"I'm supposed to be a jounin instructor gaki. Why else would I be here. Now, which of you ripe young shinobi is Team 10?"

Anko began going eeny-meeny-miny-moe around the room until she stopped with her finger pointing straight at Ino.

Ino swallowed and slowly raised her hand.

"That would be us, Mitarashi-san." She said softly.

Even Ino was afraid of Anko.

Anko grinned. Most genin in this situation would have passed out at the realization that she was their instructor. But Ino had actually volunteered the confirmation that they were her students.

"Well then come along gakis. We have training to get to. Meet me in the park on the west side of the Academy. You have five minutes."

With that said Anko disappeared in a leaf shunshin.

Chouji finished off a bag of chips before standing and following a worried Ino out of the classroom. Shikamaru followed slowly behind, his hands in his pockets and an utterance of "troublesome" upon his lips.

In the back of the classroom Sakura and Naruto were embracing one another, laughing their heads off. Sasuke looked at them and snorted.

_Baka._

Little did Sasuke know just how terrifying a drill instructor Mitarashi Anko could be.

"Well, now that outburst is taken care of, I will introduce the remaining two instructors present." Iruka said, trying to get the attention of a class that was still shaking with fear. "This is Yuhi Kurenai, the jounin instructor for Team 8."

Sasuke noted that the members of Team 8, including his cousin Kazumi, all seemed relieved to have a more normal looking instructor, even if the brunette kunoichi's eyes appeared to have a red tint to them.

"And this is Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka continued.

Naruto recognized the man from a party at the Hokage's Tower a few weeks before. As usual the man was smoking a cigarette and seemed to have a laid back attitude. Naruto wondered who was going to get him for an instructor.

"Who will be the jounin instructor for Team 7." Iruka finished.

Naruto blinked. He saw Asuma mutter something to Iruka, who merely shrugged and shook his head apologetically.

"Ok you three, come on. We better get started if we want to get anything done before the end of the day." Asuma said, motioning for the three genin in the back to follow him.

Naruto swallowed and stood, swiftly following Asuma. Sakura and Sasuke both blinked for a second before standing and following the blond out of the room.

As Naruto passed Asuma the older man matched his stride to Naruto's and spoke softly so only he could hear.

"My old man told me about what happened, Naruto. If you'd rather keep the changes secret from your teammates I'll understand. I won't mention them unless you do first."

Beside him Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement of Asuma respecting his privacy on this matter. All shinobi had secrets after all.

* * *

Asuma lead his new team to a small cafe near the Academy, where he sat down and ordered a cup of coffee and some dumplings. Naruto chuckled to hear Asuma muttering to himself about his "father changing teams" on him.

Naruto and Sakura both ordered some Dango, while Sasuke ordered smoked fish.

Finally Asuma sighed and spoke.

"Ok, so, why don't we get to know one another. I'll start. I'm Sarutobi Asuma. I like cigarettes, shouji, and women."

Asuma took a drag on his cigarette, his silence clearly indicating that one of the three genin should introduce themselves.

Naruto chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm Namikaze Naruto. I like training, my adoptive mother, my girlfriend Sakura, dango, and my familiar Lachesis. I dislike people who bully others, traitors to Konoha, and people who try to attack or kill me or my precious people."

Asuma noticed Sasuke wince at the last part of Naruto's announcement. Given what his father had told him about the night Naruto was attacked Asuma began to worry that he would have a conflict on his team.

The pink-haired girl with her arms wrapped around Naruto spoke up.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like training, pranks, and my boyfriend Naruto. I dislike people who bully others, and anyone who dares threaten my boyfriend."

Asuma had expected Sakura to glare at Sasuke after the last part of her introduction, but instead she merely smiled and kissed Naruto lightly. Sasuke on the other hand merely looked embarrassed.

Sighing, Sasuke finally spoke up.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training, mastering my family's traditional jutsus, and my teammates. I dislike traitors, those who pick on the weak just because they are stronger, and my cousin Katsumi."

Asuma blinked. Naruto and Sakura had both sent Sasuke a look of friendship and respect as he spoke. Maybe his team wouldn't be such a problem after all.

Further discussion was forestalled as an attractive waitress arrived with their orders. After a minute the four began light discussion as they enjoyed their meal.

When they had finished their light repast Asuma spoke up again.

"Alright, so, now that I've gotten to know you all a little bit, we can get down to business. You all have the rest of the afternoon off. I want you to meet me at training ground three tomorrow at eight o'clock. Bring all your ninja gear, but don't eat any breakfast. The training will be pretty intense, and I don't want you three vomiting on your first day as genin."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all nodded in acknowledgement of Asuma's orders.

Asuma stood and paid the bill before walking off, a cigarette between his lips and his hands in his pockets.

Back at the table Naruto and Sasuke shared a look.

"Well, he's better than some of the other jounin I've met. He may seem laid back, but he's really a strong jounin." Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders. "He'll certainly be a more attentive instructor than my brother Kakashi. He is always too wrapped up in those orange books of his to teach me anything."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in confusion. "Brother? I thought you were an orphan?"

Naruto chuckled, but it was Sakura who answered.

"Hatake Kakashi is a brother figure to Naruto. He was one of Naruto's father's students, and has looked out for Naruto since he was born. I've met him a few times. He's apparently a really strong jounin, but he is also notoriously unreliable." Sakura said cheerfully.

Kakashi may have been unreliable, but he had always made her boyfriend's smile brighten.

"Well, I guess if you two vouch for him this Asuma guy must be worth our attention." Sasuke said as he stood and stretched. "I'm going to go get some training in since we've been given the rest of the day off. I'll meet you two in the morning."

Sasuke idly waved goodbye as he turned and walked off, heading off towards the Uchiha compound.

Naruto chuckled, but it was cut off as Sakura forcibly turned his head and kissed him deeply.

When she pulled back she stared into Naruto's eyes, still holding his face.

"Now, dear, tell me what you did with Mizuki. I noticed he didn't return with Iruka, even if no one else did." She said, firmly but softly.

Naruto chuckled and removed his sunglasses, revealing his turquoise eyes.

_I didn't think it was possibe, but his eyes are even more beautiful now._ Sakura thought to herself as she gazed into Naruto's eyes.

"Well, dear, simply put, I ensured that he would never be able to betray Konoha again." Naruto said, his voice chill.

Inside his coat Lachesis hissed as she slithered along his arm and wrapped around Sakura for a moment.

"Hello Lachesis." Sakura said softly, letting a hand drop down and stroke the snake.

"_Hello Sssssakurass. Did I missssss anything while I sssslept?"_ Lachesis hissed.

Naruto and Sakura both chuckled.

"No Lachesis," Naruto said. "You didn't miss anything at all."

**June 5th, Twelve Years after the Day of the Kyuubi...**

The members of Team 7 met at seven forty five the next morning just outside training ground 3. As soon as they entered they were greeted with the sight of Sarutobi Asuma sitting on top of a large boulder smoking a cigarette.

"Your early." He remarked as he took another drag on his cigarette and let out a puff of smoke.

"Of course sensei." Naruto said, smirking. "Who do you think I am? Kakashi?"

Asuma chuckled. "Touche Naruto. Well, since you are all here early, I don't see any problems with beginning your final test early."

Asuma's statement was rewarded with the image of Sakura looking for all the world like a dear in headlights, Naruto smirking and taking a bite out of an energy bar that he had suddenly pulled from his pocket, and Sasuke blinking in surprise.

"What the hell do you mean final test?!" Sasuke yelled in outrage. "We already passed our exams. What the hell do you think you are up to?!"

Asuma chuckled and dropped his cigarette to the ground, putting it out with his foot.

"Those tests were all just to determine if you have the capacity to become genin. It is this exam that will determine whether you are really ready to be one though. Those of you who fail will have the option of either returning to the Academy to be recycled into next year's graduating class, or of retiring and becoming civilians."

Sarutobi crossed his arms, smirking at his sullen student. Naruto he noticed didn't seem surprised in the least.

_Damn that Anko. I bet she told him about the test just to spite me._

"The rules of this test are simple. There are three bells. I am carrying one on my person, while the other two are hidden somewhere in training ground three. You have until noon to each acquire a bell. When noon rolls around, those of you who have succeeded in acquiring a bell will be truly granted the rank of genin, and you will get to eat lunch. Any of you who have failed to acquire a bell will be tied to a post and forced to watch while your teammates eat. You will also have failed the exam, and will, as I said, have to make a decision as to whether to try again next year or just give up."

Asuma grinned and hopped down from the boulder. He took out a timer and set it down on the boulder, turning it on as he did so.

"Team 7, your final exam begins now."

**Line Break**

AN: Here it is, chapter 5 of Viper. I apologize for this taking so long, but I took the weekend off for a mini-vacation. One of my dad's old college buddies was in town to shoot a commercial with Tiger Woods, and my dad and I took him out to the desert over the weekend for a boys trip. But I got to work on the new chapters of this and Phoenix Rising as soon as I got back.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please remember to Read and Review. Jaa ne!

**Review Responses** - Because I'm just really this bored.

Zeroni420 - Thanks again for pointing the error out to me. It allowed me to fix it immediately.

Anihilation - Thanks as well for pointing the error out. You and Zeroni helped me fix it for future readers. As to the other stuff, most of your curiosity has been answered. And yes, it was indeed Anko, and I had good reason for choosing her.

dragorza - why thank you. Stories should always improve with each successive chapter.

tennisdesi91 - Naruto had an extremely traumatic event in his life that has polarized him. On top of that, he has been raised by Anko, and shares some of her sadism. Add to that Naruto's dedication to protecting Konoha, and his view of those who would betray it, its not surprising to me that I made this Naruto a bit crueler to his enemies. But, as he also has some new instincts thanks to the genetic reordering, disabling an enemy using venom would feel natural to him. Besides, he made sure Mizuki got aid as soon as fucking possible. He just ensured the man would most likely lose his arm. Mizuki deserved far more than that imho.

alexwill22 - Hiruzen Sarutobi switched the teams because he personally felt that the instructor to student setup wasn't the best it could be. He felt Asuma would benefit from having a much more driven team, and that Kakashi would benefit from being on a team who would actually question what he was doing (ie, Kaede, Katsumi, and even Shino). Anko and Team 10 on the otherhand sets up for Chouji and Shikamaru to be forced to improve much faster (and leads to much muttering of troublesome). Also, the teams were assigned by Iruka and the other instructors at the academy. But Iruka was not privy to the knowledge that Kakashi and Naruto were friends, and Kakashi plus Team 10 would have lead to a disastrously undertrained team. So Sarutobi had the teams instructors swapped to lead to the strongest dynamics possible.

dragonshaun9 - Lachesis is a complicated subject. Even Naruto's knowledge doesn't fully explain everything about what she is. When I called her a familiar in this chapter, it was the best way I could describe it at the moment.

Narutomaniac - First, on the guns. If you have ever seen the movie, you know that the Naruto world HAS large-scale guns that fire off kunai. So a simple paintball gun assembly isn't that far fetched. Hopefully this chapter has explained why Naruto wasn't at the top of the class. This was what I had decided about Naruto before I even began writing this fic.

Second, the "curse seal thingy." While the method the "image" of Orochimaru used was similar to that of placing a curse seal, it was much much more than what a curse seal is. The control of the mind would have been much more. As to altering the dna, it's actually a known fact that Orochimaru works with dna, and that he has taken dna and implanted into infants in order to try to give them abilities. Yamato, who's real name is Tenzo, was the result of such an experiment. As to how Naruto had this retro-virus in his system, I won't spoil too much, but Orochimaru left various unfinished experiments and booby traps in Konoha when he fled. The retrovirus was in a fake vaccine syringe he had slipped into the stockpile before he fled. Naruto was injected with this as a baby, before it became apparent that he couldn't get sick.

The genin/gennin thing, well, yeah, it's been misspelt in numerous places. I actually confirmed for myself using both the translation of the manga as well as looking up the kanji for it and confirming the individual readings.

Bobboky - I needed to emphasize how powerful Lachesis' venom can be, when she wants it to be. Plus Mizuki deserved it.

Kyuubiwolf23 - hehe, close, very close my friend. Thanks for the encouragement.

Darth Hawk 32 - well, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed.


	6. Chapter 6: The Ringing of the Bells

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Ringing of the Bells

Asuma had disappeared as soon as he had announced the start of the test.

That was over an hour ago, and the members of Team 7 were still sitting in the clearing next to the boulder.

"So, I think if we can acquire the first bell by working together, finding the other two will be a breeze thanks to this." Naruto was saying as he made a notation on a fresh page of his prank manual.

In Sasuke's and Sakura's laps identical books flipped to a new page and revealed the new symbols being copied onto them as well.

"But Naruto, you still haven't explained _how_ you'll be able to find the bells in the middle of this terrain." Sakura said, looking up from a reply she was absentmindedly writing on the notebook.

Next to her, Uchiha Sasuke gaped and sputtered as he read what she had written.

Naruto: So we are agreed then? We use the 'scare shitless' mixed with 'thousand fears' to distract Asuma while I sneak in and steal the bell?

Sakura: Hmmm, maybe. I still think we should go with the plan involving Sasuke in a dress though.

Naruto looked down and snorted.

"Well, dear, let's just say that Lachesis, and by extension myself, have a couple of tricks to aid in tracking." Naruto replied, his tongue flicking out and going split like a snake's momentarily.

The blond prankster grinned at his two teammates.

Sasuke flipped back to the previous page and double-checked part of the plan. After a few moments he nodded thoughtfully and closed the book.

"Ok, I think we are ready team. Let's go get us some bells!" He cried out as he stood up.

"Yosh!" Naruto and Sakura both said as they rose to their feet as well.

Still grinning, three genin turned and disappeared amongst the boulders.

A couple hundred meters away Sarutobi Asuma was lounging on top of another rock smoking a cigarette when he sensed three chakra signatures approaching. They were clearly trying to remain hidden, but they were no match for the Jounin's senses.

Finally the figures stopped about twenty meters away, but only for a moment. Suddenly he sensed two of the chakra signatures circling in opposite directions, surrounding him.

Chuckling, Asuma stood up.

Only to wish he hadn't.

He had been so focused on the strong chakra signatures of his students, he had forgotten to keep an eye on the signatures of animals around him.

Surrounding the boulder he stood on, in all directions, were several thousand large, black with gold patterning on their scales, snakes.

As one the snakes raised their heads and hissed at him before surging forward.

_Oh shit!_ Asuma thought as his cigarette fell from his mouth.

Asuma attempted to use a kawarimi at the last moment as one of the snakes struck at him.

The snake's bite instead impacted a log, and the snake vanished in a puff of smoke.

Somewhere in the boulder field a larger version of the snakes that were chasing Asuma chuckled to herself as she got the memories of her displaced clone.

"_Ssssssswe gotssss itsssss."_ Another clone hissed as it slithered up to the original.

JINGLE

A single gold bell dangled from the snake's mouth.

Lachesis hissed in pleasure.

"_Goodsss worksss. Takesssss it to Masssssterr."_ Lachesis hissed at the clone.

The clone bobbed it's head before slithering off to find Naruto.

Lachesis turned her attention back to where Asuma had moved to and hissed, directing her clones to continue after him. It wouldn't do for the Jounin to realize they had stolen the first bell already.

Wouldn't do at all.

**

* * *

  
**

Meanwhile, Naruto's three kage bunshin, two using a Henge to appear like his teammates, waited patiently, their chakra signatures a decoy for Asuma while the real Team 7 waited for Lachesis to deliver the first bell.

That was the key.

The metal of the bell would give off a peculiar taste in the air, something that Lachesis could track.

Incidentally, so could Naruto.

"Where is that snake of yours Naruto? Shouldn't it have been here by now?" Sasuke muttered as the three genin sat in the shade of some larger boulders.

"_She_ will be here shortly. Just be patient Sasuke." Naruto replied calmly.

He stood and stretched, just as a snake slithered around one of the boulders and dropped a bell into his hand.

Naruto grinned as both Sakura and Sasuke stood.

"One down, two to go." Naruto said, his eyes narrowing.

Naruto's tongue flicked out and tasted the air around the bell before sliding back into his mouth. The snake-bunshin did the same.

After a few moments the two separated and began tasting the air. After a few moments Naruto stopped and grinned, his tongue returning to his mouth.

"I've got one. Sakura, you come with me Sasuke, go with the snake bunshin. Meet back here once you've recovered your target." Naruto said as he crouched, his tongue flicking out periodically.

Despite the fact they were technically on a mission, Sakura couldn't help the thoughts seeing Naruto's tongue gave her.

_Oh man. I wonder what he can really do with that tongue of his._ She thought, blushing slightly.

They may have been only twelve, but Sakura's interest in the other sex was already at the level of a teenager several years older than herself.

It took Sasuke and his snake escort all of five minutes to find the second bell. Sasuke smirked in triumph, and when he returned to the meeting spot he was pleased to see that he had beaten Naruto back.

Naruto on the other hand was having more difficulty. He and Sakura had traced the bell to a gravel field in the training ground, but he couldn't pin it down. To top it all off, his face was seriously itching, particularly on both sides of his nose.

"So where is it Naruto?" Sakura asked as she scanned the field, looking for any sign of the bell.

"I don't know." Naruto admitted, removing his ostentatious sunglasses and scratching absentmindedly at his nose. "And darn it, why am I itching so much?"

Naruto scratched harder at his nose and his cheeks when suddenly the outer layer of skin sloughed off, revealing a line of golden-green scales that ran across the bridge of his nose.

Naruto blinked as he felt the scales on his face and he sighed dejectedly. He had been hoping the transformation had ended, but apparently there were still a few surprises for him.

Almost as if on cue his eyes suddenly felt weird, and the world began to shift in and out of focus, the colors shifting from what was really there, to a hazy spectrum of reds and purples.

Sakura, who had been looking for the bell, turned and nearly screamed as she saw Naruto's face.

Naruto's eyes were shifting from turquoise and mostly round to reddish-green and fully slitted.

"Sakura, what's going on? I can't see properly. The world keeps shifting." Naruto cried out as he dropped to his knees.

Sakura rushed to his side and held him, staring into his eyes. Naruto tried to calm himself by breathing deeply and steadily, and slowly his vision stabilized.

Finally Naruto closed his eyes for a few moments, and when he opened them again they were their (now) usual brilliant shade of turquoise.

"Naruto." Sakura asked her boyfriend quietly. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded and swallowed before speaking. "I think so. That was so weird. The world kept shifting from appearing normal to being a bit fuzzy and appearing to be made of shades of red and purples…"

Naruto's voice trailed off as he remembered something his mother had been explaining the night before after she had made a full examination of Lachesis.

_(Flashback)_

"Naruto, I know I've taught you about a lot of different snake species, but Lachesis here is different on so many levels. For starters, she has another sensory organ that most snakes lack. Those species that do are colloquially known as pit vipers, due to the little pits they have on their faces for receiving thermal images." Anko said as her son took a seat at the kitchen table.

Naruto nodded as he absentmindedly stroked Lachesis. For a snake, his new partner acted more like a cat or dog in her desire for attention.

"What this means is that they can see the world in a different manner than we do. They see relative levels of heat in the environment." Anko finished.

"Heh, that's pretty cool mom. I guess that will come in handy when fighting opponents where vision is impaired." Naruto said.

Next to him Sakura smiled politely and enjoyed her food. She wasn't nearly as interested in the biology of snakes as her boyfriend was, so she really hadn't been paying attention to his mom.

_(End Flashback)_

"Oh my god. I think it's another part of the transformation." Naruto said, touching the new scales on his face.

They felt differently than the ones on his hands and arms. Could the virus have somehow given him the ability to see heat? Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Sakura, can you go stand over there for a moment?" Naruto asked softly as he stood up.

Sakura, slightly confused, nevertheless did as Naruto asked, crossing her arms across her chest as she reached the spot he had indicated and turned around.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating on his face, trying to channel some chakra to his face.

After a few moments the darkness of the inside of his eyelids was replaced by a brightening but fuzzy image of the world before him. He could see Sakura, visible as a collection of bright reds, yellows, and oranges, while most of the ground around them was a bluish color, and the trees in the distance were a darker purple.

Suddenly, a single spot of dull red in the middle of the gravel field caught his attention.

"Sakura." He said, keeping his eyes closed and his attention focused on the glowing spot. "Check the ground six feet to your right. I think I've found the bell."

Sakura blinked and walked to where Naruto had directed her and knelt. She stood back up a moment later, the third bell held securely in her hand.

"Naruto." She said turning to look at him in confusion. "How could you know it was there? You had your eyes closed the entire time."

Naruto smirked and crossed his arms while he willed the new sensors on his face to disengage. Slowly the darkness returned, and once it was complete he opened his eyes again, blinking a few times at the sudden brightness.

"I'll explain later Sakura. Let's just say that another unexpected benefit of this damnable virus just showed itself." He said with a grin as he turned to head back towards their meeting spot.

**

* * *

  
**

Meanwhile, Asuma had been trying to avoid the huge swarm of snakes that had been chasing it. He had slowly managed to whittle it down using some Katon jutsus, but there was a still a fair number chasing him.

Suddenly he felt three chakra signatures approaching from the rear. He spun around, to be greeted with the sight of his three students appearing out of the trees and stopping together as a group, standing confidently about twenty feet away from him.

"Hello sensei. Did you miss us?" Sakura asked with a smirk, holding up her hand, a bell dangling in it.

"Or were you kept busy too by Lachesis' snake-bunshins?" Naruto asked with laughter in his voice, holding up a second bell.

"As it appears you haven't realized that the three of us who surrounded you earlier were just some of Naruto's Kage Bunshin." Sasuke said with a smirk to rival Sakura's, his arms crossed, the third and final bell dangling from his right hand.

Their cover blown the three bunshins stood and two of them dropped their henges, grinning for a few moments before dispelling themselves. Asuma looked between the three bunshins and his genin in confusion.

"Wait, but how?" Asuma asked, his voice a simultaneous mixture of confusion and a tiny bit of pride that his students were able to work together so flawlessly. "If those were bunshins I should have been able to tell."

"Not bunshins." Naruto said shaking his head. "Kage bunshin."

The remaining bunshin walked over to a boulder next to Asuma and punched it, shattering one side of it.

Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth and to the ground as the other members of Team 7 all chuckled at the dumbstruck look on his face.

_Damn it father, you could have warned me that he's been allowed to study off _that_ scroll_. Asuma muttered in his own mind.

"Ne Sensei, you may be my teacher, but you certainly don't know about everything that I've been taught yet." Naruto said with a cheeky grin. "So, do we pass?"

Asuma regained his posture and grinned at his resourceful students.

"You all pass. But not because you got the bells."

This time he was rewarded with looks of confusion on all three of their faces.

_Ok, looks like Anko only warned him that there was a test, not the true purpose of it. I guess I have to thank her for that._

"The real purpose of this test was not to see whether you could get the bells or not. It was to see if you could work together as a functional team with a group that you had been tossed together with. You all pass with flying colors. I'm quite impressed." Asuma said as he lit up another cigarette and took a puff.

It was a commonly known fact that all Sarutobi men developed tobacco addictions at some point in their lives.

"This exam has a roughly sixty percent fail rate, because so many new teams fail to learn to work together. On the other hand, there are teams who never manage to get anywhere close to completing their challenge, but who pass because they showed clear teamwork."

Asuma smiled at his students.

"Congratulations. You are now officially Genin of Konoha, and members of Team 7. Now let's go get some barbecue to celebrate." Asuma said enthusiastically.

His decree was met with cheers from his three students. As they exited the training ground he made sure to pick up his timer. He was surprised to see that it was barely nine thirty.

Team 7 had passed in record time.

**

* * *

  
**

Team 7 was sitting at a table outside of a restaurant famous for their barbecue beef three hours later when the members of Team 11 trudged by, covered in dirt, some of their clothes torn up.

They were followed by Kakashi, who had his nose stuck in an orange covered book that Naruto instantly recognized. Most of the perverted shinobi of Konoha were guilty of reading said book after all.

Naruto almost called out to Kaede to ask her how they had did, when Katsumi started to turn their way. Realizing she would likely ruin his day by fangirling all over him, Naruto reacted without thinking.

FWOOSH

Where only moments before had been seated a blond haired shinobi with bright red sunglasses, a tan trench coat, and a decidedly bare chest, there was now a log, slowly settling into place after being transported to the chair.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Asuma all blinked and stared in confusion at where Naruto had just disappeared from.

Catching sight of Katsumi Sakura swore under her breath and performed a Kawarimi as well, leaving a second log settling into a chair at Team 7's table.

Sasuke's further confusion was fixed when moments later his cousin noticed him and came over all sweetness and honey.

"Sasuke. It's so good to see you. Please, could you tell me where my beloved Naruto-kun is? I'll make it worth your while." Katsumi practically purred as she leant in towards Sasuke.

Behind her Sasuke could see Shino looking on with slight distaste evident on his face, and Kaede laughing her ass off as she realized why there were two logs sitting next to Sasuke.

A better man would have found a diplomatic answer to Katsumi's question.

A braver man would have told Katsumi to shut up and gone back to eating his meal.

A smarter man would have lied and sent Katsumi on a wild goose chase.

Sasuke was none of these things.

In a world where fear itself was a weapon, Katsumi was the master. Even her own cousin was scared shitless by the manipulative pre-teen.

So what did Sasuke do?

FWOOSH

Katsumi spat out a leaf as a third log replaced Sasuke, rattling in the chair for a moment before falling.

SLAM

"YEOOWCH!!!!!!" Katsumi cried out as she hopped on one foot, her other foot held in her hands and throbbing red. "SASUKE!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET HOME!!!"

Shino merely observed with a distinct lack of emotion on his face, while Kaede was rolling on the ground with her pup Ryoushimaru, laughing.

Asuma sighed, shook his head, and stood, leaving a tip on the table beside their unfinished meals. After glancing at Kakashi, who was still engrossed in his book, he sighed and shunshined away to find his students.

* * *

**March 20****th****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

The sun was already high in the sky as Sarutobi Asuma landed in a branch in the middle of a great forest near Konoha. He put a hand to the radio communicator attached to his ear and turned it on.

"Smoking Man to Lucky Sevens. What's the distance to the target?" He asked around the cigarette in his mouth.

"Snake Eyes to Smoking Man. Five meters. We're ready anytime." Naruto's voice came back over the radio, a slight hiss in the backround.

"Cherry Blossom to Smoking Man. I'm ready." Sakura's voice came over the radio as well.

"Arrogant Bastard to Smoking Man. I'm in position." Sasuke muttered over the radio.

Sasuke had been too busy training to take part in picking code-names for their missions, and had been forced to suffer through the indiginty of being known as Arrogant Bastard for the past eight and a half months.

"Ok." Asuma said, dropping the cigarette onto the branch and putting it out with his foot. "Go!!"

Deeper in the forest three thirteen year old genin flipped around the trees they had been hiding behind and leaped at a shadowed figure on the forest floor. The figure's ears instantly perked up at the sound and prepared to flee.

"Gotcha!!" Naruto cried out as he landed on the ground, the target grasped firmly in his arms.

A tiger-ish looking cat struggled fiercely to break free from his grip. This human smelt like danger to him, and he didn't want to be anywhere near him. Thus, when Naruto handed the cat off to Sakura, the cat clung to her and behaved like a good little kitty, for fear he would be taken by the scary-man again.

"Ribbon on the left ear...are you sure this is the target, Tora?" Asuma asked over the radio link. He was currently strolling along the forest floor towards where the yowling had come from.

"Yeah." Sasuke said over his radio, "We're sure."

"Good." Asuma replied over the radio as he lit another cigarette. "Lost Pet "Tora" Search Mission...Complete!"

**

* * *

  
**

Team 7 stood at attention in the Mission Office of the Hokage's Tower as a coruplent, overly made up woman hugged Tora tightly to her chest.

"Ohh, my cute little Tora-chan. I was so worried." She exclaimed as she practically choked the life out of the cat.

Never having seen the owner of the cat they had been required to catch on twenty three separate occasions so far, Team 7's reactions were mixed.

Naruto, who the cat had always seemed to dislike, muttered a "Take that cat" under his breath.

Sasuke, whose own mother Mikoto, despite being a Jounin, could be just as smothering when her baby was gone for a few days on one of the stupid D-rank 'missions' they were getting, merely blanched with a sweat drop on his forehead.

Sakura merely cringed slightly, feeling very sympathetic for the cat that always responded nicely to her.

_"No wonder it ran away."_ She thought.

"Now, Asuma's Team 7..." Sarutobi Hiruzen said as he looked over a mission request form. "Your next duty is...Hmm...Babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and helping with potato digging."

"No no no no NO THANK YOU!!" Sasuke suddenly exclaimed, his eye twitching.

Nearly nine months of what were basically glorified errands had nearly cracked the young Uchiha's sanity.

"I want to do, you know, a mission worthy of our skills. Find us a better one!"

_I agree._ Naruto thought silently. He had recognized the expression that had appeared on the Hokage's face, and Naruto didn't want to get drawn into whatever punishment he was contemplating for Sasuke.

_Geez, how annoying._ Sakura thought, frowning at Sasuke. Sasuke was normally more reserved than her boyfriend Naruto, usually more together. _I guess he just couldn't handle the monotony._

Even Sakura was bored of stupid errands, but at least the training Asuma had been giving them had been helping. Sakura's taijutsu was improved, albeit nowhere near as strong as either of her teammate's, and thanks to the exercises Asuma had given her, Sakura's chakra capacity had been slowly creeping up.

_Sigh...I thought it was about time for this..._ Asuma thought to himself as he lit another cigarette and took a drag on it.

Iruka looked like he was about to explode, though he also looked like he had expected Naruto to be the source of the outburst. However, the Hokage spoke up, saving the eardrums of everybody present in the room.

"Sasuke, I can understand how you must feel. But you must take this into consideration. Every day the village receives requests for missions, from babysitting to assassination. These missions are divided into categories by difficulty and are ranked A, B, C, or D." He said, speaking calmly. "These missions are then assigned to Teams or individual shinobi based on their level of skill. As you three have only become Genin in the past year, D-rank missions are the only ones suitable for you at the moment. It is advisable that you have at least a year of training with a Jounin instructor under your belt before you are given any mission C-rank or higher."

The Sandaime took another puff on his pipe and crossed his fingers.

Surprisingly, it was Naruto who stepped forward this time.

"Whatever you may say, Ojii-san, I'm not just the trouble-making brat anymore that I was when I was younger. Sakura's improvements under Asuma's leadership have been impressive, and the teme isn't half bad either. We are ready for this." Naruto said calmly.

Iruka, who had been standing and ready to deliver a verbal barrage to the worst pranskter the Academy had had in over a decade stopped, slowly began to smile, and sat back down.

Sasuke would have rounded on Naruto for calling him teme in front of the Hokage, but a single word from the Sandaime stopped him in his tracks.

"Ok."

Sasuke faced the Hokage again in confusion.

"If you want it that much, I'll give you a C-rank mission." The Sandaime said, his fingers interlaced in front of him as he smoked on his pipe. "It's a protection mission of a certain individual."

The twitching of Sasuke's eye ceased, and he smirked as he regained his usual confident/arrogant composure.

"So who is it?" He asked confidently, a tiny bit of excitement in his voice. "A feudal lord? A Princess?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled. "Calm down. I'll introduce him. Hey, will you come in here?"

A door at the side of the room began to slide open as the members of Team 7 turned their heads to look.

**

* * *

  
**

Tazuna had not been having a good day.

First some pick-pocket had tried to steal the money he had brought to purchase supplies and an escort. Thankfully some kind citizen, fed up with one of her teammates over some inane thing, managed to connect with the thief's skull with one of her flailing arms, knocking the man into a wall in an alley and immediately into the realm of unconsciousness.

Tazuna, who had been drinking all day, as was his want, had blinked, shrugged, and walked over to the man. After he had recovered his money, he relieved himself on the man's face before heading off to meet his contact to buy the supplies he needed.

Then his contact, having heard of the financial difficulties of the Wave, had attempted to strong-arm Tazuna by charging him ridiculous prices. As the goods Tazuna needed were extremely rare, he knew he wouldn't have been able to find them anywhere else.

Sighing, he had given up and left the shop in disgust, several thousand ryo poorer, but carrying a jug of a special compound he needed to help build his bridge.

He couldn't have been out the door of the shop for more than thirty seconds before a team of Konoha's Military Police descended on the shop, arresting the man for passing intelligence to foreign nations.

Then some stupid kids had collided with him, causing him to fall over and spill the jug of sake he had been drinking all over the ground. As he had been getting to his feet, not more than twenty feet ahead of where he had been heading, a rope snapped and a piano that some people had been hauling into the second story of a building crashed to the ground.

And now, he had been kept waiting for over an hour in the interminable heat of the Hokage's Tower while they waited for a team suitable for the mission he had requested could arrive.

"Hey, will you come in here?" Tazuna heard the voice of the old man who ran things here say.

Sighing, Tazuna stood up from the couch and pushed open the door into the bigger office.

"What's this?" He asked as he took a swig from the bottle he was carrying. "They're all a bunch of super brats."

He leant against the door-frame and smirked.

"Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really a ninja?! Hey!?"

Standing before Tazuna were the members of Team 7.

Sakura wore black shorts and a red battledress. She had her hitai-ate tied securely to her forehead, a red ribbon keeping her long pink hair back in an off-sides ponytail, and a pair of fingerless gloves with a metal plate on the back of the hands.

Sasuke wore his pale pants and his dark, high-collared blue shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. His hair was spiked back and his hitai-ate was securely tied on, shining on his forehead.

And Naruto, whose shorter stature was always an uncomfortable topic for him, narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses. Naruto was wearing pretty much the same clothes he had graduated the Academy with. He wore his black pants with orange trim and his mesh shirt under his tan trench coat with the flames at the bottom. He had both forearms wrapped in bandages and wore a pair of fingerless black gloves similar to Sakura's. His headband had been replaced with his hitai-ate in the duty of keeping his spiky blond hair in check, and he still wore his flame necklace and black sandals as well.

But Tazuna certaily wasn't too far off on describing his face.

Naruto still wore the over-the-top red sunglasses he had been using for the past eight and a half months. Both Sakura and Sasuke had complained that they made him look stupid, but Naruto felt that they caused opponents to underestimate him. They certainly worked in that respect when Inuzuka Kiba had decided to challenge him to a sparring match a few months back.

Naruto's face was also mostly covered by a black cloth mask that rose over his nose and obscured the lower part of his face. He had gotten the idea from his brother Kakashi after the viral transformation had placed scales on his face, and he felt it made him more intimidating as a ninja.

Combined with his funky sunglasses though, it apparently just made him look stupid.

Namikaze Naruto would deny it to his grave, but it was that precise moment, when the drunk old bridge builder had insulted his look, that made Naruto decide to change his method of obscuring his eyes.

Naruto coldly reached up and removed his sunglasses, folding them up and slipping them into a case at his hip. When he looked back up at Tazuna, he intentionally ran chakra through the scales on his face, causing his eyes to turn a reddish-green color and turn slitted,

Across the room, the slightly drunk bridge-builder merely though he was imagining Naruto's eyes changing.

"I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna." He said, not slurring a word despite having been drinking most of the day. "I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

**

* * *

  
**

AN: The other day I finally found a concrete organized timeline for Naruto itself. I will not be changing anything already established for the story, but I am taking the timeline into account now. Basically, due to the changes I've made in the story so far, the main storyline, and the events tied to it post Naruto's 12th birthday, will be taking place a year later than canon. Ie, because I made their graduation be in june, effectively 8 months after it was in canon, I am extending the time before the mission to the wave so that I can sync up the time of the year for events. I apologize if anyone has any problems with this, but its an executive decision I decided to make.

Also, because I am going to be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starting on November first, my rate of producing chapters will go down. I will attempt to provide a chapter a week to both stories, but only after I've completed my self-assigned word goal for the week on the novel I'll be trying to write. It's going to be an original "anime-style" story, and if you, my loyal readers, show enough interest, I may be persuaded to put the finished product up on my fictionpress account, if I ever resurrect the bloody thing that is. (Hint, telling me in a review you would be interested is a good way to let me know).

Now, about the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writing it. To forestall any possible baka questions on the subject, No, Naruto nor Lachesis summoned snakes. The ability used by Lachesis was a variation of the Kage Bunshin, creating copies of Lachesis. Likewise, there may or may not be other abilities used by Naruto that appear to be summoning snakes. Those abilities are similar in nature to the Kage Bunshin, in that they use chakra to create a solid living being. Anyways, since this is the last time they will be witnessed for a while, I am offering up Cameo Points to the first person who in a review can name (First and Last required) the character who wears those sunglasses, and the (Full name required) Anime said character is from. Next time you get to see what Naruto's next choice for concealing his eyes will be.

Next time, obviously, the wave arc will begin. But what sort of differences will occur when a team that was trained properly encounters the Demon of the Hidden Mist. You will just have to tune in and find out.

**Review Responses** - Because seriously, do I honestly have anything better to do on a Monday Night? Yes, yes I do, but you are all too important to me to forget.

dragonshaun9 - The affinity was just one of many reasons I chose to have Asuma as the team's instructor. And yes, familiar is a very close match to what is up with Lachesis. Reading the dungeons and dragons third edition description of the way familiars work may give you a tiny bit of heads up as to what Lachesis is capable of.

Anihilation - Oh yes, Kakashi most certainly is a jounin sensei, as you can see. And yes, his team passed the exam, but barely. And Sasuke, well, I'll only say this. He is very much the opposite of the Sasuke in my other story. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. You rock man.

Kraken77 - thanks for reviewing, and I hope you liked this chapter as well.

Kyuubiwolf23 - Thanks for the great review man. Yes, I know a bit about snakes as well. I actually knew two of the species primarily used to make Lachesis by their scientific classification for years, and I knew about how bad all four of these species are. That's why, when I decided to make the character of Lachesis, they all came to mind. As for hating Sasuke, well, read my other fic then. This Sasuke and that Sasuke are opposites. You can hate him all you want over there. I certainly do.

Darth Hawk 32 - No, don't shut up. Long reviews are a fanfic writer's lifeblood. They give us encouragement, even if they are a page and a half of nothing but criticism (a friend of mine received precisely that once).

Switching Kakashi was a very logical decision for me when I decided who to have teach which team. Since Sasuke is not the last remaining Uchiha, the main reason Kakashi was assigned Team 7 is removed. Without that requirement, having Asuma teach Naruto and his team was a much better fit, as Asuma's elemental affinity would make him most suited for teaching Naruto, and Sasuke as well. And he would be a much more stable instructor.

As to your comments about Naruto being too capable, there are a few things from canon you need to take into account. It's made very clear in canon that Naruto's actual level at graduation is probabaly jounin, but his abilities are so haphazard due to the crappy training he has received that it isnt always as clear. Some what-ifs do the right thing, and actually treat the way his training goes in their story as improving him. Some I think just overdo it. I generally either avoid those, or if the explanation satisfies me, at least mostly, Ill read it. With my own stories, there is a very well thought out process behind how I have him trained. And even in my other story, where they graduate at sixteen, I've worked to ensure that he isn't too overpowered. Despite his high chakra capacity and his innate skill with ninjutsu, in "Phoenix Rising" Naruto only knows a handful of additional techniques before graduating, and his chakra control is still sucky for a while. In this story, he may or may not know a few more lower level jutsus, and maybe a higher level on or two, than canon, but this is a Naruto who at age six got adopted by a strong jounin who would push him to always improve, and a Naruto who has a teacher who was actually training him before he graduated.  
As for intelligence, he's not a genius. Bookwork is still boring for him, which is why he was always plotting pranks. In canon, if you actually analyze it, you realize he has a certain sort of intelligence, but only if he cares about what he is doing. Ie, pranking or fighting. In this story Naruto's scores are a bit better, but I also attribute that more to the fact that it's harder for people to sabotage the heir of the Yondaime Hokage than it is for them to sabotage a stupid orphan bearing a demon. Particularly with Anko as his mother. Thus, sheer intelligence wise, Sakura and to a degree Sasuke outstrip him. Naruto's big advantage is that he has such a powerful chakra supply and an inborn skill with ninjutsu, not that he is some sort of genius.

tennisdesi91 - Hehe, thanks for the encouragement. And yeah, I personally like the idea of Asuma as the sensei, for so many reasons.

Angels Falls8 - well here you go. I hope you enjoyed it.

Lexor - ^_^ Why thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

MiseryluvsDeath - why thank you

TVMaster2000 - Against Sasuke? No. I am actually treating him quite pleasantly in this story. Now my other story, that is a different matter entirely. See the latest chapter of "Phoenix Rising" for details.

Shigyakuteki Hyousha - I chose a part of the body that would ensure he had a chance of survival. If he got bit down there, that is part of the trunk of his body, and he would have died before he could get medical attention.

narutoFMA-LOVER - ^_^ Well, I am quite pleased that Lachesis is such a hit with you. She is a fun character for me to utilize.

Chaos728 - As I said in the pm, no, this is not a Naruto Harem fic. My other story involves a possible harem, but thats around another core character, not Naruto himself.

Jack512 - hehe, well, very glad that you are enjoying this story as well. Lachesis was an idea I developed very very early in the planning for "Phoenix Rising", but I decided to leave it out and combine it with some other elements to create a new story instead. It would have just made things far too complicated if I had put it in "Phoenix Rising", as you surely know, given how complex the story is on it's own.


	7. Chapter 7: Serpent Strikes

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 7: Serpent Strikes

Team 7 met the super bridge builder Tazuna two hours later, all geared up and ready to go.

Sakura and Naruto were both geared up and calmly awaiting their sensei's arrival. Sakura had augmented her normal outfit with an extra brace of kunai, and a storage scroll Anko had taught her how to use, thus freeing her from carrying a bulky equipment pack.

Naruto had replaced his red sunglasses with a simple pair of thin black sunglasses, and was wearing two collapsible Fuma shuriken strapped to his back, a storage scroll on his lower back carrying most of his gear, and two brace of kunai dangling on chains across his chest under his trench coat.

Sasuke, having been too arrogant to ask for help from his teammates, was forced to wear a backpack. He looked grumpy when he saw his two teammates were all using storage scrolls.

Naruto and Sakura shared a knowing look and a slight chuckle. Over the past several months, finding ways to prank or otherwise annoy their teammate had become their favorite pastime. Their periodically moody Uchiha teammate had long since learned to check his shoes for and clothes for snakes before putting them on.

"Alright, Team 7. We're ready to go. Diamond Formation Alpha." Asuma Sarutobi said, appearing in a puff of smoke. The Jounin was fully geared and ready to go, his equipment stored in a large pack on his back. "Diamond Formation Alpha. We'll maintain this arrangement until we reach our target for today and make camp. Move out."

The three genin instantly fanned out into a diamond formation, with Tazuna in the center and Asuma bringing up the rear. Sakura and Naruto took the flanks as Sasuke took point. As the members of Team 7 began the long walk towards the Wave Country, Naruto's sensitive ears caught Tazuna muttering under his breath.

"I ask to hire ninja and they give me teenage brats. What's the world coming to? They won't be any use when his underlings come for me."

Naruto chose not to draw attention to the man's comments, instead alerting Lachesis to be on guard with a quick hiss. He also covertly slipped a pair of kunai into his sleeves, ready to attack or defend at a moment's notice.

* * *

**Six Hours Later…**

Team 7 and their charge had been walking for six hours straight, and had spent most of that time in silence, each contemplating a different thing.

Tazuna had been worried about what sort of men Gatou would send after him. Likely it would be real ninjas, and these teenage brats he had hired would meet unfortunate ends.

Sasuke had been excited about finally being on a real mission, and was fighting to keep his excitement under control and keep focused on the road.

Sakura had been splitting her time between private thoughts about her boyfriend, thoughts of things she wouldn't be able to do with him for several years yet (not that that ever stopped her from thinking them), and performing a chakra control exercise Anko had taught her. The exercise would help with the chakra control of someone like Naruto, who had relatively poor control even after six years of training, but for Sakura it had a different purpose. It was slow going, but after several months of using the exercise, her chakra reserves had increased by nearly twenty percent, a very important fact given she had pretty low reserves to begin with.

Asuma had been keeping his eyes open for any sign of threat, particularly having heard Tazuna's mutterings and become suspicious himself. He had also noticeably refrained from smoking, causing his students to wonder what he was worried about.

And Naruto, Naruto had been extremely busy within his own mind. While Lachesis and two snake-bunshins he had summoned peeked their heads out of his trench coat, covertly tasting the air for danger scents and using their heat-sensitive pits to scan for human heat sources in the woods around them, Naruto's body was on auto-pilot, the barest part of his consciousness tied to instinct guiding him as they walked.

The rest of Naruto's consciousness was elsewhere, sitting on top of a large boulder in the middle of a clearing in a forested jungle that existed in perpetual night. He sat staring into the red eyes of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, who stood nearby.

Neither party had spoken a word in nearly an hour, but had anyone spoken, they would have interrupted a conversation of extreme depth.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune, greatest of the nine Bijuu, was a creature of raw elemental power. With a swish of its many tails, it had once been able to cause earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. It had been able to wipe the land flat before it, or leave mountains in its wake. And now, trapped unwillingly within a human, doomed to perish should its host ever perish, the Kyuubi was taking steps to ensure its continued existence.

It was teaching the brat.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Kyuubi blinked. And blinked again.

Kyuubi turned his gaze away from Naruto, who had also blinked and was now taking several deep breaths.

Finally, Naruto's voice broke the silence.

"I think I understand now what you mean by the voice of Nature. This is still a head trip though." Naruto shook his head as if clearing it out.

The Kyuubi's response was barking laughter, something to which Naruto had become fast accustomed over the past several months.

"**Kit, I sincerely doubt you truly grasp what I mean. But you may finally have an inkling of an iota of a bit of understanding."**

Kyuubi turned back to face Naruto as he stood and stretched on top of the rock. Kyuubi chuckled again.

"**But that is neither here nor there. You have made far more progress in understanding these concepts of which I have deigned to teach you than any mortal has a right to. There are very few in your world who would understand even as much as you have begun to understand."** Kyuubi grinned darkly at his pupil. **"I must grudgingly admit to being impressed, brat."**

Kyuubi's voice still carried hints of scorn and dark humor in it, but Naruto had long since grown accustomed to that as well. He had figured out early on that treating the Kyuubi, who was trapped within Naruto with no chance of escape, with a modicum of respect earned surprising dividends.

* * *

Kyuubi was a great demon lord, and being trapped within a human, a damn mortal monkey, with no control over his life or death, was far more terrifying a prospect than he would ever admit. So it had been a pleasant surprise when his host, his jailor, had faced him without fear and with respect upon their first meeting.

Kyuubi had come away from the discussion extremely surprised, as not only had the boy listened to him attentively, and shown him the respect due a demon lord, even one who has lost power over himself, but had also promised he would return to his mindscape on a regular basis, so that they might converse.

Since that day, nearly nine months prior, Naruto had spoken with the Kyuubi at least once a day. The two had formed a rapport, albeit a tentative one, and the Kyuubi, for all his haughtiness and power, had begun to mildly respect the gaki, for what little respect he could have for a monkey spawn.

Some days, the Kyuubi attempted to teach Naruto to commune with Nature in the manner the Bijuu had learned long ago. His motives were not altogether altruistic. A stronger Naruto meant his own chances of survival would be increased. A Naruto who could master the communion with Nature would eventually be able to provide an avenue for the Kyuubi to experience the real world once again, if not escape. He had gotten quite bored of the Kit's jungle mindscape over the past twelve years, and longed to feel real wind in his fur once again.

This part of his plans he had not shared with the Kit.

As he watched Naruto get down off of his rock, Kyuubi appraised the way the brat moved. Where the brat had once moved in sharp, hard motions, he now seemed to flow as he moved, almost like a snake. This was a result of both his training in his mother's Hebi style taijutsu, but also as a result of his pairing with his partner Lachesis.

If the Kyuubi had to put a name to the sort of bond Naruto and Lachesis shared, he had to say that it was much like the animal familiars of a people long since gone from his world. The Kyuubi remembered them both with fondness and regret.

Regret, because the acolytes of him and his fellow Bijuu at the time had been adept at knowing just where to scratch to soothe an unreachable itch.

Fondness, because he had thoroughly enjoyed wiping them from the face of the earth when they had attempted to turn him and his fellow Bijuu into mere weapons.

Thus was also why the Kyuubi had come to Konoha thirteen years ago. He had learned of someone attempting to recreate the powers of the Shodaime, to recreate his ability to control the Bijuu. The Kyuubi had had enough of being a human's lap dog to last him 'til the end of eternity.

"I should probably be getting back to the real world. Lachesis is reporting some odd scents, and I'd rather be at full capacity if anything happens."

Kyuubi was broken free from his reverie by the sound Naruto's voice.

"**Then go Kit. Do not waste anymore of my time."** Kyuubi replied brusquely, turning away in dismissal.

Out of the corner of his eye, the Kyuubi saw Naruto smirk and then bow. The smirk he could forgive, because it was just Naruto's way of telling Kyuubi that he could see through his haughtiness.

Naruto faded away suddenly, his form vanishing in a matter of seconds as he returned his consciousness to the real world.

Sighing, the Kyuubi exited the clearing, weaving between trees until he reached his destination.

A second clearing, much smaller than the one he and Naruto met in, came into view. It had clearly been burnt, the ground being covered in a fine layer of soft ash, and the sides of the trees facing the clearing were charred black. In the center of the clearing lay a small bed of leaves and vines, resting on top of a mattress of ash.

Silently, the Kyuubi walked over and curled up on top of the bed of vegetation.

"**Hurry back Kit. It gets boring in here."**

Within moments, the only sounds to be heard were the sounds of the forest creatures, of the wind blowing through the canopy of the jungle, and the very loud snores of one very asleep Lord of Foxes.

* * *

"Um, Tazuna-san?" Naruto heard Sakura ask as he became fully aware of the real world again.

"What?" The old drunk asked, turning his head to look at the pink haired kunoichi.

"You're from the Wave country, right?" Sakura continued with a thoughtful look on her face.

"What about it?" Tazuna replied grumpily.

On his other side Naruto smirked, utilizing the distraction to taste the air quickly, his tongue momentarily elongating and forking. It wouldn't do to disturb the client after all.

"Asuma sensei? Do they have ninjas in that country too?" Sakura asked as she looked back over her shoulder towards their sensei.

Asuma smiled faintly as he replied, loud enough for all three of his students to hear.

"No, not in the Wave country. They are small enough and removed enough that they do not receive much interference from the larger nations, thus they don't have a pressing need for a shinobi village." Asuma said. "But, in most other countries, while the culture and customs may be different, hidden villages do exist, and so do ninjas. To many countries on the continent, the existence of a shinobi village means military power."

Sakura turned back to face forward, deep in thought. "Thanks Asuma sensei." She tossed back as an afterthought as she absentmindedly reached up and fixed her hair as she walked.

"But don't worry. There won't be any ninja combat on this mission. It's just a C-rank after all." Asuma said with a grin.

Only Naruto noticed the way this statement left Tazuna subdued, looking down at the ground.

Naruto spoke quietly, drawing the attention of the three snakes currently wrapped around his body under his trench coat.

If anyone had been able to hear him, they would have heard a strange hissing sound, much like a snake. Had they been born with or gained the capacity to understand this strange tongue, this is what they would have heard.

"Tazuna knows something he isn't telling us. When Asuma mentioned that we won't be encountering any foreign ninja, his scent changed and he tensed up. Now, what are these strange scents you mentioned? They might be important."

"SSSSSSwe sssssmellssss waterssss. Puddlesss. But there hassss been no rain for weekssss. Andsss we sssmellsss sssssomethingsss metalsss."

Naruto frowned as a large puddle in the middle of the road came into view. Adjusting the kunai in his sleeves, Naruto silently motioned for two of the snakes to slide down around his arms. Lachesis herself remained coiled around Naruto's chest, her head resting on his neck and ready to strike.

As they walked past the puddle neither Sasuke nor Sakura appeared to notice anything. Naruto carefully made sure not to take notice of it, as he did not want to alert whoever was waiting to ambush them that he was prepared. Asuma likewise gave it only a tiny thoughtful look before walking past.

After they had passed the puddle the water suddenly spiraled upwards, revealing two black-cloaked figures, both male, wearing breathing masks, wearing hitai-ate with four diagonal lines on them and metal horns attached to the sides, and with a large clawed metal gauntlet on their right arms.

Fast as lightning, one of the figures leapt into the air, a large chain running between his gauntlet and his partner's gauntlet. He flipped over Asuma and before anyone could react had wrapped Asuma in the chain.

"What?!" Asuma cried out.

"One down." One of the men said, both figures pulling their arms away from Asuma faster than the members of Team 7 could follow.

Naruto saw Asuma's eyes widen in surprise.

As Tazuna and the members of Team 7 watched on the razor sharp chain tightened and Asuma was torn to pieces, blood flying everywhere.

Sasuke and Sakura cried out in surprise and terror, while Naruto started to crouch.

"Two down." A voice said very close to his ear as the two enemy shinobi appeared behind Naruto.

Naruto's face held a look of fear for a single brief moment, before turning into a grin as he began to laugh sadistically. Almost faster than the two shinobi could react, two long black snakes struck out from Naruto's sleeves. The two shinobi barely managed to dodge the two-inch long fangs of the snakes as they both leapt away, clearly surprised by such a sudden attack from a mere genin.

This gave Sasuke the chance he needed. As the two enemy shinobi prepared to attack Naruto with a different tactic, Sasuke leapt into the air and tossed a kunai, catching a link in the razor-edged chain and pinning it to a tree on the side of the path.

Both figures tugged on their ends of the chains.

"I'm stuck!" One of the shinobi cried out as he was unable to withdraw the chain from where it was embedded in the tree.

Naruto smirked as he and Sasuke flanked the two shinobi.

"Hmpph. You underestimated us." Sasuke began, smirking as he unfolded a Fuma shuriken, spinning it with one hand.

"And for that you will pay." Naruto finished with a dark grin on his face, three hissing snakes poking out of his trench coat.

"Now you'll see why they call us the Dynamic Duo!" The two boys cried as they rushed forward, both preparing to strike deathblows to the two shinobi.

The eyes of both enemy shinobi widened for a moment, before suddenly the connection between the chain and their gauntlets broke. Thinking fast, the two dodged around the attacking genin faster than they could follow, making a mad dash towards where Sakura stood with a pair of kunai in her hands, prepared to defend Tazuna.

Both shinobi grinned behind their masks as they struck forward with their clawed arms. Their grins were instantly wiped from their faces as their momentum carried them into a clothesline blow from Asuma, knocking both shinobi out ice cold.

All three members of Team 7, and Tazuna as well, stared in pleasant surprise as their sensei, who just moments before they had thought dismembered, dropped the unconscious bodies of the enemy to the ground.

"Well." Asuma said, lighting up a cigarette for the first time in six hours. "That's that. Nice job Sasuke, Naruto. You did good."

Asuma took a drag on his cigarette as Sasuke smirked that little smirk of his and Naruto grinned. Naruto's grin turned to a full on smile as he suddenly found himself embraced in a massive hug from his girlfriend, who was beaming that their sensei had praised her boyfriend. Naruto's two snake-bunshins immediately vanished in puffs of smoke as Sakura's uber-strength hug squished them out of existence

"Tazuna-san." Asuma said coldly as he lifted the two fallen shinobi.

"What is it?" Tazuna exclaimed, sweating bullets.

"We need to talk." Asuma continued, his voice still cold as ice.

Several minutes later saw the members of Team 7 in a semicircle around a tree. Asuma had tied the unconscious shinobi to the tree after stripping them of all weapons.

"These look Chunin from Kirigakure. These shinobi are known to keep fighting no matter what." Asuma said, dropping his spent cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his foot.

"How did you read our movements?" One of the Chunin asked, his head lowered in resignation.

"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days…well, there just isn't going to be a puddle in the middle of an uncovered road." Asuma replied with a chuckle.

"If you knew that, why did you let the brats fight?" Tazuna asked as he stared at the two bound Chunin.

Asuma chuckled again. "I could have killed these two instantly if I had wanted, true. But there was something I needed to find out. Namely who were these two after, you or us."

Tazuna paled noticeably as Asuma turned to face him. "We hadn't heard that there were shinobi after you. Our mission was simply to protect you from thieves or gangs. Now this is at least a B-rank mission. Given that you have lied to us, we are fully within our rights to turn around and take you back to Konoha."

Tazuna's shoulders slumped.

"Asuma, I need to talk to you." He said dejectedly.

Asuma nodded after a moment, all ears.

**

* * *

**

Somewhere in the wave country, in a massive mansion, the commander of the two Chunin who had come after Team 7 had the dubious privilege of being harangued by the very man who had hired them.

"You failed?!! I paid you guys a lot of money because I heard you were a very strong former ninja!!" The short man yelled at the tall shinobi reclining on a couch in the center of the room.

Said shinobi wore camouflage leg and arm wormers, vertically striped pants, his hitai-ate slantwise on his head, and bandages around his face. He neglected to wear a shirt instead having a black strap that ran from his pants and circled his neck.

"Stop your bitching. This time I'll go personally, with this head slicing cleaver…" The shinobi said, swinging the overly-large sword that had been slung over his shoulder forward until the blade was a mere foot from Gatou's face. "And kill them."

**

* * *

**

**March 22****nd****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

After two more days of travel Team 7 had finally reached the coast and the border with the Wave Country. They were currently sitting quietly on a small boat as the boat's owner paddled, carrying them through the deep mists that were currently floating over the water.

"Whoah." Naruto said as the end of a massive, unfinished stone bridge came into view.

He currently had his sunglasses off and tucked into his pocket, and if someone had looked closely they would have seen that his eyes had turned slitted and had a reddish-green tinge to them. Given the environment they were in, Naruto had felt it was prudent to scan for heat sources, just in case. According to Asuma sensei, Suiton masters were common in Kirigakure, which meant that while crossing the water, Team 7 and their charge were at their most vulnerable.

As he looked around the boat, Naruto saw Sasuke sitting at the front of the boat, his face in a frown.

_I bet Uchiha is brooding over his brother. Again!_

He saw Tazuna sitting in the middle, his eyes downcast.

Naruto briefly remembered Tazuna revealing the truth behind why he had hired them; that a ruthless businessman named Gatou wanted him dead so he couldn't complete his bridge and break Gatou's stranglehold over the Wave Country. He remembered how after considering for a while, Asuma had sent a messenger bird back to Konoha, requesting that someone come and collect the two Kirigakure Chunin, who Asuma left unconscious with a series of pressure points, and that reinforcements be sent along.

They had not had time to wait though, as to do so would have made them sitting ducks if there were anymore shinobi involved. Thus they had progressed towards the wave, anticipating that their back up would catch up with them within a day of arriving in the Wave.

He saw Sakura staring idly out at the water as the boat slid silently through the mists. Naruto resisted the urge to chuckle when he caught the faint smile and blush on his girlfriend's face. She had gotten that look quite often in the past year, and Naruto had quickly developed a suspicion as to what she was thinking when she got that look.

_Heh. I wonder what act she is imagining this time? Ever since she borrowed one of Kakashi's Icha Icha books she's gotten the look far more regularly._

Not that Naruto minded the fact that she was having those thoughts. Just that at times Sakura could be, well, quite pushy (if you catch my drift).

And finally he saw Asuma, who had his eye closed and seemed as if he was asleep. Naruto had learned from experience however that the Jounin was likely meditating in order to increase his ability to sense chakra, to possibly increase their chances of detecting and countering an attack on the boat.

When they finally reached the other side of the water and disembarked from the boat, the owner of the boat wished them luck and left the dock to move his boat to another location. If Tazuna's bridge construction failed, the man clearly did not want to be associated with them.

Team 7, again in formation around the old drunk Tazuna, swiftly exited the city along a path through the trees, leading towards where Tazuna said his house lay.

Naruto's eyes were still a red-green as he overlaid his heat vision over his normal vision. Over the months he had learned to more effectively combine his two forms of vision, as well as use them both simultaneously but still separate from one another. He also had a pair of kunai up his sleeves, ever-ready like his mother had taught him, as well as Lachesis and six snake-bunshins he had concealed carefully within his clothes. If they were attacked by enemy shinobi again he wanted to be fully prepared, capable of striking with the deadly snakes from any direction.

Sakura, who kept closer to Tazuna as a rear guard as she was self-admittedly the weak point in the team when it came to actual combat skills, had palmed a pair of shuriken as soon as they had exited the boat, ready to throw at a moment's notice.

Sasuke, who had dropped into his cold holier-than-thou behavior, kept his hands on his pockets, where he had kunai discreetly hidden and ready for him to draw at a moment's notice.

After about twenty minutes of walking Naruto's heat vision paid off. To their right, concealed within a bunch of bushes along the edge of the trail, he clearly saw a crouched figure of a man with the tell-tale cold spot indicating a metal weapon. Naruto had to force himself not to widen his eyes in surprise at the size of the weapon.

In the bushes the figure was grasping his sword and preparing to strike.

_I see…No wonder the Demon Brothers didn't stand a chance._ The man thought as he lined up a strike that would surely decapitate the Konoha shinobi, and more importantly his target Tazuna. _Konohagakure's Asuma of the Flaming Winds. This could be interesting._

The figure drew his sword and with one massive throw of his arm flung the blade spinning across the path towards the five soon-to-be dead figures.

"Everyone get down!" Naruto and Asuma cried out simultaneously.

Sakura and Sasuke both dropped to the ground, Sakura dragging Tazuna down with her, while Naruto and Asuma both dodged to the side, avoiding the incoming blade completely.

The giant blade embedded itself in a tree on the opposite side of the road, stuck halfway into the trunk. Sasuke and Sakura both gasped as they looked up and saw the tall, intimidating figure standing on top of the handle of.

Naruto merely narrowed his eyes, readying his snakes to strike at a moment's notice. Wrapped around his torso, her head nestled against his neck, Lachesis practically hummed with excitement and energy. Not for the first time since he had encountered and become bound to the mysterious snake, the summoning-tattoo on Naruto's right forearm began to glow a faint green as chakra was channeled from his near unlimited stores, flowing into Lachesis through the link between them.

Asuma had instantly drawn his trench knives, chakra channeled into his hands, ready to release into the knives in an instant.

"Momochi Zabuza, nuke-nin of Kirigakure. This is a surprise." Asuma said coldly, letting his cigarette fall from his mouth to the ground where he ground it into dust.

Asuma caught Sasuke tensing up.

"Stay put Sasuke. This one is on a whole 'nother level than the ones we fought before. I want you, Sakura, and Naruto to guard Tazuna. I'll deal with Zabuza."

Zabuza chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Asuma of the Flaming Winds, but I'm here for the old man. He must die. But….it appears that I must defeat you first."

Suddenly Zabuza vanished, moving faster than the three genin could follow. He reappeared about forty feet away, standing on the surface of a small lake, the water rippling outward as wave after wave of chakra rolled off of him.

"Everyone, be on guard. I'm sensing a build up of chakra." Asuma cried out as he dropped into a defensive stance, trench knives at the ready.

Zabuza finished his hand seals and opened his eyes. "Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Immediately the nuke-nin was obscured as a massive cloud of mist expanded outward from around him, covering the entire area in a thick mist.

Sasuke tightened his fist around the kunai in his hands.

"He's gone!" Sakura cried out, beginning to get afraind.

Naruto snorted and stepped forward away from Tazuna.

"I can handle this one sensei. Why don't you hang back and make sure these three don't get hurt." Naruto said with a tiny bit of calculated arrogance.

Through the mist, he watched as Zabuza and three Zabuza-sized shadows of cold, nearly the same temperature of the mist around him and only visible because of their density and the slight difference in temperature between the water and air, moved silently through the mist to surround them. He saw the real Zabuza change direction towards him at this announcement.

Naruto smirked.

_Finally, an opponent I can test this maneuver on. And he suspects nothing. The fool is probably underestimating us. We'll show him why you never underestimate a snake._ He thought, his vision momentarily revealing a small clearing containing the Kyuubi and a massive version of Lachesis.

_Yessssssss. Battle it isssssss._ Lachesis hissed.

_**Be careful brat. This is no simple Chunin, and I don't want to die.**_ Kyuubi replied grumpily.

Within his mindscape Naruto grinned.

_You just be ready if I need your help Kyuubi._ That was all Naruto replied as the vision faded and the world returned, viewed through heat and eyes simultaneously.

Silently, Naruto performed a brief series of hand signs as Zabuza approached through the mist, ending on a distinguishing cross-mark seal.

SWISH

* * *

As he formed three clones around him Zabuza smirked behind his mask. Asuma of the Flaming Winds would certainly provide a challenge.

"I can handle this one sensei. Why don't you hang back and make sure these three don't get hurt." Zabuza heard Naruto say.

_But first I'll separate this brat's mouth from his head._

Zabuza approached silently through the mist as his three clones spread out, drawing his sword and holding it out to his side. He paused momentarily, not more than five feet in front of the genin, who clearly couldn't see him through the impenetrable mists. Zabuza smirked, and then swung his sword through the air at head level for the foolish blond teenager.

SWISH

Zabuza's blade slid through the space that mere milliseconds before had been occupied by Naruto's neck.

Reacting faster than Zabuza could have predicted, Naruto had fallen backwards, his legs kicking out from under him as he fell. He felt Zabuza's blade pass a bare inch over his nose as he fell, and as he kicked out his legs the first pair of snake bunshin launched out, wrapping around Zabuza's legs and sinking their fangs in. Zabuza and his sword instantly collapsed in a puddle of water as, true to his rank as a Jounin, Zabuza used a Kawarimi to replace himself with one of his four clones.

From out of the mist Asuma heard the SWISH and the splash of water, and then heard nearly Naruto's voice echo from seemingly everywhere out of the mist.

"Fuuton: Chirasu!"

There was a sudden rush of wind and all of Zabuza's chakra summoned mist was blown away, revealing nearly forty Naruto's scattered around the clearing, the two remaining clones advancing on Tazuna and the other two members of Team 7, and Zabuza standing once again on the water of the lake. Asuma immediately spun and leapt at the nearest clone, lashing out with his trench knives before going into a roll as about a third of Naruto's clones boxed it in, but not before the Mizu-bunshin's sword dissipated the clones..

"Hishou Tsubame." Asuma extended his trench knives with blades of wind as he struck out, dissipating the surprised clone immediately.

Sasuke and Sakura finally got over their surprise as the final clone began to swing the massive sword at them. The sword was stopped by most of Naruto's remaining clones, who sued their bodies to slow it long enough for Sakura and Sasuke to counterattack. It too dissipated suddenly as it was dissolved by a pair of kunai and a pair of shuriken that impacted with its chest.

Back on the water the real Zabuza frowned before spinning in place with his sword drawn, dissipating the remaining kage bunshin who made a seemingly foolish suicide rush at him.

_No way those three are genin if they reacted that quickly. What the hell is going on here?_

Naruto pushed off the ground into a hand stand, smirking at Zabuza.

"You wanna go another round? Or are you gonna give up quietly?" He said with a smirk as Lachesis slithered onto the ground from his right sleeve.

The black and gold snake grew as she went until she was nearly eighteen feet in length, slithering towards the water.

"Lachesis, use it now!" Naruto yelled out as he pressed off the ground again with his hands, flipping and spinning in the air so that he landed on his feet facing Zabuza.

"Kage Bunsssshin no Jutsssu." Lachesis hissed as she suddenly glowed blue.

With a massive puff of smoke and a mass of splashes, the water around Zabuza was suddenly filled by over a thousand black and gold writhing forms. Back on shore Tazuna stared in shock and a little fear as the mass of writhing snakes converged on Zabuza, who suddenly found that no matter how many of the creatures he dispelled with slices of his sword, three times as many moved forward to fill their place.

Naruto stood on the edge of the water laughing at Zabuza's predicament when something in a tree on the far side of the lake caught his attention. With a few quick hand signals he had Asuma by his side, his trench knives still glowing.

"Asuma sensei, there is a figure in the tree on the other side of the lake, the tall one with red flowers. I'm not sure how long they have been there, but I suspect they are involved with Zabuza." Naruto said quietly as he kept his eyes glued on the hidden figure.

Asuma nodded in understanding before running out onto the water heading towards Zabuza.

However, before he could reach the figure of Zabuza, who had become entangled as nearly two dozen of the Lachesis clones had latched onto his limbs and dragged him down onto the shore as he attempted to escape, four senbon needles came flying out of a tree on the opposite bank of the lake and slammed into his neck.

Zabuza's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the edge of the bank, half in and half out of the water.

A figure with black hair and wearing a Kirigakure hunter-nin mask dropped out of the tree Naruto had pointed out to Asuma just moment's before next to the body.

"I thank you for providing the distraction needed so that I could take Momochi Zabuza down. He is wanted for crimes against Kirigakure and he managed to wipe out my entire squad two weeks ago. Even with two weeks recovery, I did not stand a chance at taking him until you five showed up and took him down for me. You have Kirigakure and my thanks." The figure said in a voice that could have been male or female; none of the members of Team 7 could tell for sure.

With their point made, the Kirigakure hunter-nin lifted the deceased corpse of Zabuza and disappeared in a water shunshin before anyone could react.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, something his mother had once taught him about hunter-nin protocols trying to force its way out of his memory and into the forefront of his mind.

"Naruto! You were amazing!"

Sakura's energetic cries as the pink-haired kunoichi wrapped her arms around Naruto from behind knocked him out of his musing, the minutia of esoteric assassin knowledge he had been trying to remember momentarily forgotten.

"I just kept that bastard distracted sweetie. Lachesis did all the hard work." Naruto replied with a grin, reaching one hand up to stroke his girlfriend's cheek as she snuggled the other against him.

"Will you two cut out the mushy stuff?" Sasuke's voice came from behind them, grumpy 'til the end. "Its bad enough I have to deal Katsumi going on and on about how awesome you are while we're home without having to deal with you two going all mushy on missions."

Naruto just blinked at his teammate momentarily. Sakura on the other hand smirked and turned Naruto's head to face her with her hands, kissing him deeply. Both genin knew that Sasuke was still attracted to Sakura, but the Uchiha at least had the smarts to recognize that she was well and good off the market. His cousin on the other hand still hadn't gotten that message about Naruto.

"Is everyone alright?" Asuma asked as he finished putting his trench knives away and lit up a cigarette.

Tazuna, who had landed on the ground in a heap with his pack when the fighting began, merely grunted in reply before uncorking a bottle of sake and taking a swig. Sasuke smirked and reported no injuries, Sakura following suit when she broke her kiss with her boyfriend a moment later. Asuma heard no reply from Naruto, but chuckled when he glanced towards his blond protégé and saw what was keeping his mouth occupied.

Sakura had reinitiated the kiss as soon as she had reported her status, and Naruto was currently caught up in his girlfriend's passion.

Sasuke continued to look moody as Asuma gathered them up to continue on to the relative safety of Tazuna's house, which at least could be fortified against any follow-up attacks by Gatou's men.

Ten minutes later Team 7 and the old bridge builder Tazuna finally reached his house. It was alone in a clearing about half an hours walk from the village, and was flanked by forests on two sides, a massive grass clearing on the third, and a small lake that ran along side that.

When Tazuna knocked on the door there was a long tense silence before a young brunette woman opened the door apprehensively, her eyes lighting up in happiness when she saw who it was.

"DAD!" The woman cried out as she pulled Tazuna into a hug. "Inari and I were afraid you weren't going to make it,"

Tazuna chuckled. "With these four protecting me there was no way I couldn't have made it back Tsunami."

Tsunami smiled and released her father, motioning for the exhausted members of Team 7 to enter her domicile and take a load off.

* * *

**Four Hours Later….**

The members of Team 7 and the Tazuna house hold were sitting around the dinner table shortly after night had fallen. Tsunami, with Sakura's help, was busy putting the finishing touches on a large dinner to thank Team 7 for bringing her father home safely.

"So, Sakura isn't it? I couldn't help but notice you seem to be really close with that blond boy, Naruto. Um, if you don't mind my asking, but what's with those odd markings on his face?" Tsunami asked the younger pink-haired girl quietly.

Sakura tensed up momentarily before replying, hoping Tsunami hadn't caught her momentary lapse in composure.

"Naruto has a, well, what we call a kekkei genkai. It's a power he inherited from his parents, and unfortunately it gave him some unique facial markings." Sakura began, telling a little white lie to protect her boyfriend. She knew that he was still very sensitive about both being a jinchuriki and about the snake stuff. _Along with ungodly amounts of chakra, stamina, and a demon lord in his belly. And that's before taking that snake stuff into account._ "Besides, I find the markings attractive. They give him an…exotic look."

Sakura smiled slightly to herself, a slight blush rising on her cheeks as her mind momentarily distracted itself with thoughts of how her exotic boy-toy could put that stamina to good use, if she could just get him into bed.

Any further questions from Tsunami unfortunately died aborning as there was a sharp knock at the door. Everyone in the kitchen tensed up immediately.

Naruto and Sasuke were the first to move, Sasuke drawing a pair of kunai and backing up against the wall in the kitchen while Naruto slipped silently into the living room and channeled chakra into the heat sensitive organs in his face.

Asuma moved before either genin could act further, opening the door with his trench knives drawn, ready to go.

Standing beyond the door were three Konoha genin and their Konoha Jounin instructor.

Inside Tazuna's house, all three genin members of Team 7 groaned.

* * *

AN: Sorry it's been a while, but I've been really busy with my original writing, trying to find a job, and suffering a major case of writer's block. On top of this I added a third story to my rotation called "Legacy of the Planet", and produced two chapters for it as well. I'm really liking the route I get to take with that one, so I will enjoy exploring different avenues with each of these stories.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even though I was dealing with writer's block I still enjoyed writing it. Obviously Naruto's fighting style is a variant of surprise strikes with bunshin rush, but I'm wondering what all of you readers think of Lachesis' snake bunshins being used for some of his strategies. To forestall some questions I suspect I might get, no, the bunshins are not toxic. Only the original Lachesis is capable of poisoning a target, although with the length of her fangs, being bit by one of her bunshins is still no picnic.

And three guesses as to who Team 7's backup is. Anyways, please remember to Read and Reviews. Reviews brighten my day and often keep the writer's block away. Next time on "Konoha's Golden Viper"…well, you'll find out next time. ;)

**Technique Names** – Because really, like half of you can't figure out the translations on your own.

**Fuuton: Chirasu**--_Wind Release: Dissipate/_ This technique creates a massive flow of wind away from the user, blowing away clouds of smoke, mist, etc. Developed as a counter against smoke bombs and Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu. (D-Class Ninjutsu)

**Hishou Tsubame**--_Flying Swallow/_ Using his chakra to extend the blades of his trench knives, Asuma attacks his opponent. The chakra can inflict injury even if the blade does not hit. (B-Class Taijutsu) (Sarutobi Asuma)

**Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu****--**_Water Release: Hidden in the Mist Technique/_ This technique causes the air around the user to become extremely saturated with water, forming a thick fog. This technique is a simple D-rank jutsu that is often used in preparation of much higher level Suiton jutsus. On top of making it harder for an enemy to see them, the saturation of the air makes it easier to perform Suiton jutsus, particularly if the user is not near a body of water. (D-Class Ninjutsu)

**Review Responses** – Because really, what else is there to do at 4AM on a Friday night?

tennisdesi91 – Well, of course Naruto is a beast. On top of having the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, he now has some genetics from some of the top predators in the animal world. Of course he would freak out the foolish house cat. The 'heat vision' was part of the very original idea for the story, and is part of what decided the name of the fic. I've always been fascinated by pit vipers, particularly the Crotalus genus which is common where I live, and the even more dangerous Lachesis genus (aka Lachesis Muta, common name the Bushmaster). One of their distinguishing characteristics (shared with some constrictor species like pythons) is these heat sensitive pits on their heads, which literally see differences in heat. So I got to thinking 'hey, what if I have Naruto raised to be an assassin by Anko, and have him gain some snake-like traits somehow and combine the two.' Given Anko's specialty is assassination, I felt giving him such a useful trait to a superior predator such as the pit viper was a good start to creating the way I want the character to go. And obviously, it's already paying dividends.

alone shadow dream – thank you. Hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Moonfal – As always, much thanks for reviewing. Your reviews are always enjoyable and encouraging to read. I always strive to keep my grammar and spelling as accurate as possible, and the majority of spelling or other errors that slip in I either catch during final editing, or slip through because I lack a beta. Part of why I get the chapters out so quickly is that I don't toss them through a possibly lengthy beta process before putting them up, since most of the time I don't need the assistance to keep track of my own story. That may need to change with my latest story, "Legacy of the Planet", but that's simply because it is a cross-over with Final Fantasy VII, which I unfortunately must admit I know less about than I'd like. It's not one of the games I've completed after all. As always, it's a pleasure reading your reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter a lot.

Anihilation – Naruto and Sakura are pranksters, and it was an image that came unbidden to my mind and I had to use it. The code names were not actually originally part of what I planned to write, but as I got started on that section I realized it might be fun to do. I instantly thought of Smoking Man for Asuma, and the other three just fell into place.

InoShikaCho is surviving. We won't really see much of them until the Chunin Exams, but you can bet they are at least marginally stronger than in canon. Anko is a bloody insane taskmaster after all.

Keep in mind, this Sasuke's situation is slightly different in that his brother didn't destroy his mind and drive an all-encompassing desire for revenge into him. Also, Katsumi was even more driven grade wise and technique wise than Sasuke in canon, while at the same time being basically the stereotypical popular girl. Add to this that she can manipulate the adult Uchiha into believing anything, that makes her quite scary to Sasuke. Also, their relative skill levels prior to the graduation exam were very nearly identical. Sasuke was stronger at taijutsu, while Katsumi was mildly stronger with Ninjutsu as well as having better written work grades. Also, Katsumi's one blind spot is when it comes to Namikaze Naruto. She is so infatuated with the stature and power she would wield as the wife of a clan head that she is often blind to the glaringly obvious when it comes to him. Also, just because the log was there didn't mean she knew WHERE Naruto had headed off to. She figured that Sasuke, being his teammate, might have an idea of where her Naruto-kun might have run off to.

Naruto's normal appearance did cease changing with the scales covering the organs on his face. The scales formed so that the heat sensitive organs could function without his own body heat screwing them up. Any more than that I'd rather not say, as it will spoil far too much. As to the Kakashi mask, Kakashi was basically a sort of big brother figure to him, so when he realized he had these changes coming visible on his face, his first thought was that he needed a method to conceal it so people won't ostracize him anymore, and his second thought was to remember the first thing that came to mind that could do that.

Well, I'm having fun writing it, particularly since I get to do my own thing entirely. It's encouraging to know that there is at least one person who might be interested in reading it once it is completed. I'll keep you all updated with it's progress in the coming months.

PS: There may very well be lemons of varying degrees. Not sure how graphic I want to risk with this story, as I have seen stories get taken down for little more than hands roaming under clothes, and other stories survive with fairly graphic scenes. We'll see when we get there. Even if I don't show it very explicitly, it will certainly be implied, given Sakura's thinking with regards to her boy-toy *cough cough* um, I mean boyfriend.

davethedark – Going update soon, contrary to apparent popular belief, does not actually increase the rate at which a fanfiction author updates his stories.

Oushou no Yami – There are only two pairings I'm sure about for this story besides Naruto-Sakura. The first is Kiba-Hinata. The second is, well, you guessed it, Ino-Shika. Though exactly how when and why that last one occurs, well, you'll just have to wait and find out.

narutoFMA-LOVER – Lachesis does possess size-changing abilities, among others, but for now I'd rather keep precisely what they are and their limits to myself. You will just have to wait and see whether or not Lachesis shows the ability to grow that large. (Or whether she actually even needs that ability in the first place)

Darth Hawk 32 – Yup, it was Kamina actually, but you got the anime correct and it's clear you knew who I meant, so I'll give it to you. As to Sasuke, sometimes I like him being the arrogant asshole, sometimes I like to see him revamped. Here, the changes in Sasuke are rooted in the fundamental differences between this one's history and the history of the Sasuke in canon. His brother's betrayal of the clan was much more subdued (for reasons of plot which I shall not deign to explain here), and thus Sasuke was raised with an intact clan and a drive to fight his brother that was not only much less psychotic and obsessive, but also tempered when Naruto explained more about what happened that night.

The Guy who writes – I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I chose to keep the Wave arc intact in my stories for the simple reason that the conflict and interaction with Zabuza and Haku are useful tools for developing certain parts of my characters. In this story particularly, it presented the perfect opportunity to showcase just what manner and how Naruto tends to fight in my story, and is causing set-up for the kickstarting of an event crucial to one of the many sub-plots of the story. The Land of Waves, and the nigh perpetual mist that surrounds it, are far more important in the long run than this simple arc.

MiseryluvsDeath – Thank you.

gunnslie – Most of the typos are the result of errors I missed during final editing, and the fact that I lack a beta for my projects who is capable of reading and then discussing the chapter with me in a timely manner. I would rather get the chapters to you upon completion than have you all stuck waiting 3-7 days for me to get it back from a beta. Also, many thanks for your favorites list. It not only has some of my personal favorite stories listed, but I have found several stories while scanning it that I picked up to read. Some I was disappointed in, often by the writing style or how fanboy/fangirlish/childish the writing was, but others were true glories, and they have since been added to my own favorite and alert lists.

Bobboky – That's what I strive for.

thedarkeststar – That is one spoiler I don't mind giving, as I have been putting numerous hints as to the precise relationship between Naruto and Lachesis into the story so far. Lachesis' connection to Naruto is much more like, say, a familiar in D&D, upon which I based both Lachesis' existence and the ancient magics/techniques that have been used to bind her to Naruto. The summon tattoo is a connection between him and his snake, and while I don't want to spoil too much, I will say this. When Naruto dies, Lachesis dies, but it doesn't work the other way around. Ponder that, as it will still be a while before I fully reveal what I mean.

Kyuubiwolf23 – I've spent probably eight years of my life coming up with story ideas and creating worlds in my head to get to the point I am with my writing, so don't give up. And yeah, he is a giant shithead in canon, and in "Phoenix Rising" as well. Of course, at least in "Phoenix Rising" I get to punish him for being a shit head.

Kontraband – Hey, even a short review like yours shows that you are reading and enjoying the story, and enjoyed it enough to be bothered to leave a token of encouragement. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter as well. Jaa Matta.

Okiro Zangetsu – So is mine. She has been the most fun to create, particularly since there is so so so much more to her than meets the eye. And no, she is not Frenzy in disguise. As much as I wish that to be true.


	8. Chapter 8: Pain and Suffering

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 8: Pain and Suffering

"Naruto-kun!!" Katsumi's falsely sweet voice rang out, the dark-haired girl rushing through the door past Asuma in an attempt to get to the object of her desire.

Naruto however was thankfully not one to suffer deer-in-headlights syndrome and performed a quick set of hand signs. As Katsumi's arms closed around his body Naruto's Kawarimi completed, replacing the blond-haired boy with the trash can from the kitchen. It took Katsumi a moment to notice her mistake, plenty of time for Naruto to share a look with Asuma from the kitchen, grab Sasuke and Sakura, and vamoose.

The blond genin reappeared on the roof, both of his teammate's letting out sighs of relief at the momentary reprieve.

"Dammit! Of all the teams Oji-san could have sent, he sent THEM!?" Naruto exclaimed exasperatedly as he sat down.

Sakura dropped to the roof next to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him, snuggling close to her boyfriend, whispering comfort in his ear.

"And here I was looking forward to the excitement of this mission, and that bitch has to show up and ruin it. Why couldn't she have done us the favor of falling off a roof and breaking her legs too bad for the medi-nins to fix? Why I ask you, why?" Sasuke ranted as he took a seat looking the opposite direction.

While they were up here they might as well work as lookouts as well.

Back inside Tazuna's house Katsumi's two teammates were making their entrance much more sedately. Inuzuka Kaede entered with a large white puppy with blue markings on her heels. She had an air of exhausted excitement about her, like a dog that has just exhausted itself playing. She was followed by Aburame Shino, who remained mysterious behind his dark sun glasses and high collared jacket and who spoke not a word. Their silver-haired Jounin instructor Hatake Kakashi followed his students inside.

"We are your back up Asuma." Kakashi said matter of factly as Asuma closed the door behind him. "Report on the situation."

Asuma bristled as Kakashi attempted to take control of the situation. "Yes, you are my back up Kakashi. That means that I am still in command of this mission."

Asuma lead Kakashi off into another room so that the two could begin planning what to do for defenses and how to prepare for Zabuza's eventual return. Katsumi on the other hand was still screaming bloody murder about getting trash all over her cute new ninja outfit and how it must have been that blasted cousin of hers who did it.

Kaede chuckled lightly and Shino merely shook his head. Katsumi, who would have everyone believe that she was the leader of the team, had been a major disappointment for the bug user as a partner. He would have much rather have been teamed with Naruto, even if his bugs did shy away from the blond enigma lately. Ever since he began to wear that strange face mask, so similar to the ones Kakashi wore. Shino made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the blond. Perhaps he could determine just why his bugs were skittish around him lately.

Back on the roof the members of Team 7 all chuckled as they heard Katsumi railing downstairs. Naruto quickly summoned a brace of Kage bunshin and dispatched them into a random search pattern around the house. Better safe than sorry after all.

* * *

Rather than risk dealing with Katsumi again that night Team 7 had set up a pair of tents just inside the edge of the forest, out of sight the house. Naruto had used a pair of shadow clones to get some food from inside, which Tsunami was more than happy to provide, before disappearing back to the woods to spend the evening snuggled up with his girlfriend.

When they returned the next morning Asuma sent them a silent nod in understanding of their actions.

"Naruto-kun!! There you are!! Finally!!"

Katsumi's high pitched voice threatened to shatter Naruto's ear drums as the dark-haired girl leapt forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Naruto went stock still while behind him Sakura clenched her fists and started to growl.

_3…2…1…_ Naruto thought, taking a deep breath.

"EEEK!!!!! WHAT'S THAT SNAKE DOING HERE?!?!?!!!? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NEVER TO BRING THAT CREEPY THING NEAR ME!!?!?!" Katsumi cried out in fear as she fell away from Naruto, Lachesis' head poking its way out of Naruto's jacket.

"Sssssstupid humannsssss girlsssss. Massssster isssss Sssssakura'ssss." Lachesis hissed, her tongue flicking out constantly.

Behind Naruto Sakura giggled for a moment before stepping forward and draping her arms suggestively around Naruto, leading her head over his shoulder.

"You know Katsumi, you've really got to stop this. Naruto is mine and I am his, and no amount of fan girling is going to get you his affection. You'd have better luck going after your cousin, though I'm fairly certain he'd disappear just as quickly," Sakura said with a smirk.

She slid around to Naruto's front until he caught her in his arms, holding her close. The two genin began to kiss gently, giggling and reveling in the looks flashing across Katsumi's face.

"Serves you right." Kaede said as she stepped forward and gave Katsumi a hand up.

"But-but-but…" Katsumi stuttered. "I'm the daughter of an important clan!! He should be courting me, not that harlot!! Her clan is almost all civilians!! It's not fair!!"

Kakashi shook his head. Katsumi was perhaps the strongest member of his team, even without having awoken her Sharingan yet, yet when they were near Naruto she turned into the worst fan girl in existence.

"Whatever Uchiha. Just get your butt off the floor so sensei can give us our assignments for today." Kaede said pulling Katsumi all the way to her feet, turning to face Kakashi and Asuma.

Kakashi looked like he was about to speak when Asuma cleared his throat. The silver-haired Jounin sent Asuma a cold look but he deferred.

"Now, as my team is already aware, we have encountered an A to S-Class Nuke-nin identified as Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist. We have reason to believe that one of his accomplices, disguised as a Kirigakure hunter-nin, has rescued him, although given the acupuncture points he must have used we will likely not be seeing Zabuza for at least a week." Asuma began. "As we do not expect an attack for at least a week Kakashi and myself will be guarding Tazuna and his building crew on alternate days. On the days we are not guarding the bridge we will be here overseeing your training. We are not sure how many allied shinobi Zabuza has, but the last concrete report on the size of his force was seven members. We can guarantee that number to have been cut down by two thanks to our run-in with two of his men on our way here."

Asuma paused for a moment.

"This means that in seven days all six of you will be taken from training and given active assignments assisting us in guarding Tazuna and the bridge. You will have that long to improve your skills. I suggest you give it your all, because in the coming fight, there is no guarantee that you will survive. This isn't the Academy anymore."

Asuma paused again as he saw his comments sinking in. The Aburame boy showed no expression on his face, while Sakura and Sasuke both looked grim. Naruto's expression didn't change, but Asuma saw his eyes narrow. Kaede looked slightly nervous, while Katsumi looked almost excited at the thought of a real fight.

_She'll lose that look soon enough…_ He thought.

"Now, I'll start guard duty today, while Kakashi will oversee your training. Naruto, you have permission to use your Kage bunshin for training today, but no practicing your mother's techniques on your teammates. Understand?" Asuma shot Naruto a hard look.

The blond masked genin nodded back. "Understood Asuma-sensei. I'll stick to practicing on Kage bunshin and inanimate objects. But…permission to spend today training with Lachesis specifically? I have a few ideas for how to improve my chances against our foes and I'd like to perfect those first."

Asuma nodded. "You have permission as long as you can do it within sight of Kakashi and without disrupting the others' training."

Asuma turned his head to Kakashi.

"I'll take my leave now and escort Tazuna to the bridge. I don't want to come back and find that you have just spent the day sitting around reading those orange books."

Asuma turned and walked towards the kitchen where Tazuna was waiting, ready to exit through the back door.

Kakashi faced the genin.

"Ok, follow me."

Without further preamble Kakashi turned and walked out the open door, his team following after him.

Naruto and his teammates shared a look before nodding and following.

* * *

Kakashi lead the six genin to a shady clearing in the forest surrounded by trees.

"Now listen up. What I am going to teach you today is an ability that will allow you to walk up any surface as if it were flat ground."

Sasuke snorted, earning a glare from Kakashi.

"What do you find so funny?" He asked.

Sasuke snorted again before replying. "I'm sorry, but are you honestly only just now teaching your students to tree climb?"

Sasuke couldn't continue as he broke out fully laughing as the look on Kakashi's face answered his question. Naruto stepped forward.

"Serious Ni-san, I knew you were lazy, but I didn't think you were this lazy. Asuma sensei has already taught _us_ how to walk up trees AND walk on water. So would you mind giving us some more difficult training while you teach your genin to walk up trees? I mean, if they can't even do that yet then they should never have been sent as backup for this mission."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Kaede and Shino. "No offense meant to you guys by the way. It's not your fault your sensei is a lazy pervert."

Kakashi's forehead was nearly ready to explode out of anger and annoyance as Naruto turned back to face him, his face going cold.

"How about you just take care of training your team properly while I'll train my team in the habits and techniques of assassins? Surely you can get over your laziness enough to do that, _Kakashi-sensei_?" Naruto said, his voice calm except for putting an imitation of Katsumi's high-pitched squeak at the end.

Kakashi's lone eye narrowed.

"You are a genin, and you will follow my commands Naruto. Now, as I was-"

Kakashi paused as Naruto held up a finger.

"Wrong Kakashi. I will not follow your orders. Asuma-sensei has given me permission to oversee my own training, and I am certain that he will support my decision to take over the training of my team since you seem to be insistent on retraining us in something we mastered months ago."

Naruto turned and began to walk away, his two teammates starting to follow him. He didn't get very far as Kakashi suddenly blurred and appeared in front of him.

"You will stop and you will listen to me."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"I may view you as an older brother Kakashi, but my patience only goes so far. I will not be held back from my training, training that could possibly save all of our lives when the time comes. So please, step aside." Naruto said coldly.

Inside his mouth he felt his fangs reacting to his anger, itching to be deployed. Naruto fought the urges in him to strike at the danger, knowing full well what trouble he would be in if he actually attacked Kakashi.

"Naruto, please, just wait." Kakashi sighed. "After I have explained the tree climbing exercise to my team I'll give your teammates a more difficult training routine, all right?"

Naruto nodded, visibly relaxing.

"That is acceptable. But I'm still going to start working on my training with Lachesis and my clones. I'll be just inside the forest around us, and I'll check back in with you periodically."

Kakashi visibly relaxed as well, nodding before walking back over to the rest of the students. As he went Sakura rushed to Naruto's side, holding his arm worriedly. Naruto sent her a small smile, one she could see despite his mask.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'm fine. The urges are under control again."

Sakura let out the breath she hadn't been aware that she was holding.

The three turned back towards the rest of the group as Kakashi walked up a tree to demonstrate the ability. Naruto shook his head.

_Ni-san never changes._ He thought to himself with a chuckle.

Kissing Sakura slightly on the cheek and patting Sasuke on the shoulder, Naruto vanished in a leaf shunshin.

In the woods surrounding the clearing, nearly six hundred copies of Naruto suddenly appeared, each one disappearing as they sought a different means of hiding. All but one.

Namikaze Naruto, nine snakes coiled around his limbs and body, was prepared to work on his assassination techniques.

With another swirl of leaves Namikaze Naruto vanished.

* * *

The genins returned to Tazuna's that evening completely exhausted. None of the members of Team 11 had managed to make it more than halfway up the tree without collapsing.

The next four days followed a relatively similar pattern. Team 11 worked on teamwork exercises and tree climbing while Sakura and Sasuke both worked on their taijutsu and jutsu work. Asuma had taught Sakura a jutsu on the second day that allowed her to condense water from the air around her into a powerful stream of water. He felt that it would be useful should the enemy use Kirigakure no Jutsu again as she could help clear their vision.

Naruto on the other hand had spent the entire, much to Katsumi's dismay, in the woods training. After he felt he had mastered working with his snake strikes as much as he could with his current level of physical ability Naruto had turned his training on its head. He had transformed all his clones into copies of Zabuza and his sword and directed them to attempt to attack him just like Zabuza would have.

Needless to say it was a very exhausted Naruto who returned to Tazuna's house each day.

But on the sixth day of their seven days of training Naruto didn't return. Nor could Kage bunshin sent out by Kakashi find any sign of him.

The next morning all five genin were split into three teams, Asuma taking Katsumi with him, and began to comb the forest looking for any sign of what could have happened to the blond genin.

Meanwhile, Naruto was sitting in a clearing talking with a young boy he had encountered who had been picking herbs. Naruto had fallen asleep where he lay the night before after exhausting himself training, and the young man had woken him up shortly after sunrise.

As the two young boys stood and prepared to part ways Naruto turned away, a smile forming on his face.

"You know, you're really not all that bad. I advise you stay away from Tazuna and the bridge, as I'd really hate to have to kill you, mysterious Kirigakure hunter-nin."

Naruto turned back to face the shocked Haku, smiling.

"Or should I say, Nuke-nin Momochi Haku."

Before Haku could even react Naruto disappeared in a leaf shunshin, his chakra presence rapidly disappearing.

Haku had to sit down in surprise.

_He…he knew who I was?_ Haku thought, still in shock. "Just who in the world are you, Namikaze Naruto."

* * *

It was Sakura and Sasuke who finally found Naruto. The blond boy had been walking towards Tazuna's house when his two teammates dropped out of the trees above him, Sakura embracing him tightly and Sasuke smacking him in the back of the head.

Naruto just chuckled and wrapped his arms around Sakura, pulling the girl closer. He knew his disappearance must have scared them, but he could apologize later. For now he had to reassure her that he was really there and that he was really alright. Sasuke snorted and looked away as Naruto tipped Sakura's head up from his chest and stared into her eyes. Silently they closed the gap and Sakura pressed her lips against Naruto's."

"Ewwww. Stop it stop it stop it. I don't want to hear this. Nope, no way. It didn't happen. I won't believe it."

Kaede laughed as Katsumi slammed her hands over her ears, blocking out Kaede's report to Asuma on who had found Naruto. In the corner of Tazuna's kitchen Sakura and Naruto were helping Tsunami with the dishes from lunch and the pink-haired girl was keeping as much contact with the blond as she could.

Asuma merely shook his head, a chuckle on his breath. Kakashi certainly had more problems to deal with than he had.

"Anyways, listen up." Asuma spoke up, interrupting the dish cleaning and Katsumi bothering. "Our enemy has likely recovered by now, so starting tomorrow you six will be joining me and Kakashi on guarding the bridge. Naruto, I trust you can deploy enough Kage Bunshin around Tazuna's house just in case Gatou sends mercenaries to take Tsunami and Inari hostage?"

Naruto nodded with a faint smile on his face. Unnoticed in the opposite corner of the kitchen, Tazuna's grandson Inari stared at the boy incredulously.

"I could also send some to Gatou's house to keep him and his mercenaries occupied, but that might merely bring the shinobi down on us here instead of at the bridge, so I'll save it for after we've dealt with this Zabuza and his minions. No use trying to be heroes before the real threat has been eliminated after all."

Inari's eyes widened in surprise at the blond's declaration of war upon Gatou.

"You can't become heroes!!" Inari cried out. "All heroes are just people who have died fighting the impossible!!"

Tears streamed down Inari's cheeks as he fled the kitchen headed for the stairs. Naruto looked towards Tsunami for explanation.

Tsunami sighed and began to explain about Inari and the man who had become a father figure for him. Including how that man was executed by Gatou as an example of what would happen to those who resisted his power.

Throughout the explanation Naruto's eyes began to narrow. By the end of it he was standing with both Sasuke and Sakura at his sides, Sakura holding onto his arm in an attempt to keep him calm.

Finally, when Tsunami had finished, Naruto growled and looked up.

"This is bullcrap. I'm going to prove that heroes do exist, and that there is no such thing as fighting the impossible. Only defeating it!"

Naruto turned and ran towards the stairs to the second story, Sakura on his heels. Sasuke walked more sedately into the living room and smirked as he took a seat next to Shino.

_That Naruto…even with all the darkness of his rough beginnings in him, he's still a spark that can light any fire._

Upstairs Naruto was verbally beating some sense into Inari.

* * *

Asuma canceled their planned training for the day because of the search for Naruto, so each genin spent the afternoon working on different stuff.

Shino spent the time looking for new insect species around the clearing. Kaede and Shiromaru explored the woods nearby. Katsumi had managed to rope both Sasuke and Naruto into helping her work on her taijutsu.

Sakura had been slightly hurt that Naruto hadn't turned the girl down, even if his explanation that she really needed the help made sense given the situation. She had stalked off into the woods in a bad mood and just begun wandering.

As she wandered further and further away from Tazuna's house, her mind lost in thought and her footsteps guided almost as if some force was directing her, the air began to slowly become foggy.

It was a couple hours later, as the sun was beginning to near the edge of the horizon and twilight was dawning, when Sakura finally snapped out of her daze. She gazed around fearfully as it suddenly dawned on her that she had absolutely no idea where she was, and that the air around her was almost supernaturally saturated with water. Her hand instantly shot down to the weapons pouch on her hip as she looked around.

She was standing in a small twilit clearing with a small pool of water in the middle. The pool was deep, and the sides of it were covered in crystals, glittering in the day's waning light. At several points around the pool there were spires of these crystals reaching towards the sunlight above, and in the center of the pool there was a single solitary blue gem, clear as the ocean, reaching toward the heavens.

The trees around the edge of the clearing were packed so tightly together that only a small opening behind her, which seemed to be a small tunnel that led under the roots of one of the massive trees, would have allowed anyone access.

Sakura relaxed as she realized that she was alone, and began to look around in amazement at the wonder she had found.

"It's...it's beautiful." She whispered, kneeling by the edge of the pool and stroking one of the small crystals.

There was something about this place that just felt right to her. She felt at peace, almost as if she were one with nature.

As she sat there pondering the beauty and tranquility of this small hidden grove a small head poked its way out from the roots of one of the trees. It was a small female fox, her fur a pale red with soft blue streaks in it. The fox's eyes were a pale slitted blue and there was a small blue diamond on its forehead. Silently the fox padded from its hiding place, three blue-tipped tails swishing as she approached the strange girl from behind.

It had been a very long time since any human with 'the gift' had found her sacred grove. She had almost given up hope that any ever would. Her last contractor had witnessed the destruction of his entire civilization at the hands of her elder brother and had broken their bond in despairing, forcing her to return to her grove.

The pink-haired girl began to turn around and the fox froze, eyes glittering as she rushed to a decision. By the time Sakura had turned fully around, searching for whatever presence she had just felt, there was no sign of the blue-red fox. All that remained was a small necklace sitting on the ground, the chain a pure white gold with a small emblem of a three-tailed fox dangling from it, the eyes formed from tiny perfect chips of the blue crystal that permeated the pool.

Sakura, seeing and sensing no one but herself, reached out tentatively to pick up the necklace. She hadn't seen it on her way over to the pool, but maybe she had just kicked the dirt off of it as she walked past. She lifted the necklace and stared at the little charm, amazed at how realistic and detailed it was. Stroking it between her fingers for a moment Sakura made her decision and put the necklace on.

As the fox charm settled around neck Sakura felt a rush of wind. Unbeknownst to her, but a small part of the power that the grove contained had imparted itself unto her.

After giving the beautiful grove one last look Sakura ducked into the tunnel under the roots and disappeared. A few moments later the roots closed, erasing all evidence that there had ever been a tunnel, the only sign that Sakura had ever been there a set of footsteps left in the dirt of the grove floor.

* * *

Sakura reached Tazuna's house an hour later, but when she tried to remember her path she found that her mind was blurry. The sound of Katsumi trying to make a move on her boyfriend inside the house drove any further thought of the grove from her mind as Sakura rushed inside to pound the shit out of that damn Uchiha.

* * *

The next morning the Konoha shinobi escorted Tazuna en masse to the bridge. Kaede and Shiromaru ran interference to keep Katsumi occupied and not hanging off of Naruto every second, while Sasuke and Shino kept alert for any possibility of an ambush. When they finally reached the bridge they found the morning mists to be slightly thicker than usual, but neither Tazuna nor most of the genins gave it a second thought. Only Naruto and Asuma became immediately suspicious, Kakashi a moment later when he noticed Asuma tensing up.

Asuma performed a few hand signs that Kakashi didn't know, sending a coded message to Naruto. Nodding in acknowledgement even though he knew his sensei couldn't see him, Naruto channeled some chakra to Lachesis and his partner summoned twelve more snake bunshins.

The bunshins moved swiftly through the mist as the humans continued forward. Neither Sakura nor Sasuke reacted as a snake wound its way up their legs and around their bodies, coiling along their left arms. Two coiled along Asuma's body, one along each arm, while a fifth tried to coil up Kakashi's body, but the silver-hair Jounin merely dispelled it by clenching it in his fist.

Back wrapped around Naruto Lachesis hissed in annoyance.

The remaining seven disappeared into the mists, scouting for threats.

Three minutes later they reached the end of the bridge and in a brief moment of clear vision found the members of Tazuna's building crew on the ground, cuts and bruises littering their bodies. Tazuna instantly rushed to the side of the one man who appeared to still be conscious.

"I-it was Gatou's men." He managed to force out before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

The gathered shinobi all tensed.

"Sakura, Katsumi, Sasuke. You three stay with Asuma and guard Tazuna." Kakashi began, taking charge of the situation. "Naruto, disperse some clones into the mists. Shino, do the same with your bugs. Kaede, you and Shiromaru stay close to Tazuna and see if you can smell anyone out in the mists."

Most of the genin obeyed Kakashi's commands immediately; except for Sakura and Naruto. Sakura had noticed the way her boyfriend had tensed and the very faint ripple of chakra that meant he was channeling. Since she hadn't seen him perform any hand seals she knew that he must be using his heat vision.

"Sakura." He said, the sudden sound of his voice startling her and alerting Kakashi to the fact that neither of them had obeyed his commands.

"Third quadrant, about six quantums from us." He said.

To anyone listening it was complete gibberish. But to his teammates it carried all the information they would need to pinpoint a target.

Sakura nodded and brought her hands together, performing a rapid series of hand sealls. When she completed it was on a strange triangular seal with her hands flat, palms pressed forward.

"Suiton: Kawa o Chikara!" She cried out as the chakra she had channeled and released grabbed hold of the water in the air, drawing it toward a point a few inches in front of her palms.

A sudden stream of water a foot wide shot out from her hands into the mists, followed by an almost instantaneous cry and impact sound as the stream connected with someone approaching from the Wave end of the bridge. As the jutsu completed the Konoha shinobi noticed that the air around them had cleared noticeably, revealing the entire end of the bridge

Just barely within their vision five figures appeared. Back the way they had come from three relatively nondescript Kirigakure nuke-nin stood, or rather two stood and one was struggling to get to his feet after having been too slow to dodge Sakura's surprise attack. At the other end of the bridge two more figures were revealed. The first and tallest was Momochi Zabuza, who stood with his arms crossed, his massive sword strapped to his back. The second was the mysterious Kiri hunter-nin from the week before, standing silent and masked beside his real master.

Katsumi gasped as she saw their opponents, just how serious this was finally sinking it.

"Momochi Zabuza. It seems you have more help than last time." Asuma began with a chuckle. "But we also have aid. I suggest you give up and leave before we are forced to kill you."

Asuma had his trench knives in hand while Kakashi had drawn a pair of kunai. Around Tazuna the four genin had all drawn kunai as well, while Sakura had a pair of shuriken she had palmed after finishing her jutsu and Naruto had drawn a pair of oddly curved kunai.

Zabuza chuckled. "Sharingan Kakashi, this is an honor. I will enjoy killing you as well as Asuma."

Zabuza looked past the gathered Konoha shinobi.

"Raku, Ando, Roru. Take out the genin and the target. Haku and I will deal with Asuma and Kakashi."

Naruto snorted and looked over his shoulder back towards Zabuza and Haku.

"I think you'll be dealing with Asuma and Kakashi alone, Zabuza. Your Chunin aren't up to the task of dealing with us." He said with chuckle.

As Zabuza narrowed his eyes at the blond boy Naruto raised his hand and let the curved kunai in it fall, stabbing point first into the ground. Naruto smirked and snapped his fingers.

Sudden yells of pain and confusion from his men drew Zabuza's attention. His three minions were all enwrapped by several large black serpents and being crushed. Smaller black serpents slithered along their larger compatriots, biting the three Chunin in the necks. Zabuza watched in surprise as one by one the three Chunin collapsed as the snakes bit them. The giant serpents holding them moved off into the mists, taking his minions with him.

Zabuza snarled and drew his sword, anger overwhelming him that a mere boy had cut his forces in half.

Naruto smirked and turned fully to face him, holding a closed fist out over his dropped kunai.

"Grab." He said, more for show than anything else.

A black-and-gold snake launched out of his arm and grabbed the kunai in its mouth. It retracted just as fast, Naruto catching the kunai in his waiting hand. His attention was on Haku.

"So, Haku. Shall we do this?"

Zabuza growled and was preparing to attack the annoying brat when Haku stepped forward calmly.

"Please Zabuza-sama, allow me to deal with the genin. You will have your hands full with the two Jounin." He spoke softly, a complete counterpoint to Zabuza's hard gruff voice.

"Very well Haku. Have your fun."

Naruto grinned as Sasuke and Sakura flanked him, ready for a fight.

Behind his mask Haku smirked as he walked forward, hands in his sleeves.

Finally, when he was standing a few meters away he brought his hands out and began performing a series of one-handed seals. Ice formed in the air around him and took on the form of hundreds of senbon needles.

"Die." Haku said calmly as he launched the swarm of ice at the three surprised genin.

Katsumi's fearful cry of 'Naruto-kun' was lost as Sasuke dodged in front of Naruto before he could react. Sasuke brought his hands together and performed a quick jutsu. He breathed in deeply and then breathed out, spitting forth a massive ball of flame.

Haku's ice needles melted into nothingness in the heat of the flames, but Haku himself easily dodged the attack as the three genin retreated, drawing him away from Tazuna and the three genin guarding him.

As Asuma and Kakashi began their assaults on Zabuza Naruto's mind was racing, seeking a way to fight Haku. He hadn't anticipated the man being an ice user after all.

Sasuke and Sakura dodged a second barrage of icicles, but Naruto held his ground, an idea coming to him. He waited until practically the last second, then performed a quick set of hand seals so fast his hands blurred for a second. When he finished he cried out in a loud voice.

"Fuuton: Kaze Tate!!!"

The wind around him picked up into a massive whirlwind, deflecting the ice senbon straight back at Haku.

Haku himself didn't dodge, instead forming a massive ice mirror in front of himself to block the attack.

Sasuke and Sakura leapt forward, using Haku's momentary lack of visibility to get closer. Naruto sensed something strange about the mirror though and tried to grab them and pull them away.

"Makyō Hyōshō."

He didn't make it in time. The three Konoha genin suddenly pulled up short as they became surrounded by twenty identical mirrors of ice. Sasuke spat off another fireball, but it barely melted the frost coating the dangerous feeling mirrors.

"Fuck." Naruto said as he watched Haku's feet disappear as the young man appeared to step into the mirror, his image suddenly appearing in all of the mirrors.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zabuza had summoned three Mizu bunshins and was pressing the assault on Kakashi and Asuma, not giving the two Jounin the chance to get off any high powered jutsus.

After a couple minutes of pushing the assault he saw an opening in Kakashi's guard and struck. Kakashi managed to dodge, but not completely, as Zabuza's sword swung upword and cut into his chest. As Kakashi stumbled backwards Asuma and Zabuza both saw blood dripping from the wound.

Zabuza was about to press the advantage and finish the man when he felt a sudden pulse of raw chakra. It felt like pure evil, more so than anything he had ever felt in his life.

A few moments later he heard Haku's strangled cry of pain.

* * *

Naruto and his teammates had quickly discovered that Haku could move nearly as fast as light between the mirrors, allowing him to attack with senbon needles from any direction.

They had been able to dodge any crippling or for a few minutes, but first Sakura and then Naruto had fallen to the needles. Naruto had been taken down by a blow to the knee that had caused him to drop to his knees. He was too busy trying to keep his balance with his hands to see Lachesis be pinned to the ground and go still under the assault of senbon, having tried to avenge her master's collapse.

As he struggled to try to get to his feet Naruto heard Sasuke curse Haku, watching his teammate's feet out of the corner of his eyes as he suddenly seemed to be moving faster. Then he heard Haku tell Sasuke to say goodbye to his teammate, as he would soon be joining his girlfriend in death.

Naruto froze and looked up just in time to see a trio of senbon flying towards his head. No way he could move out of the way while injured like this.

SLAM

Sasuke, needles peppering his arms and legs like pimples on a teenage girl's face, stood before him. He was facing Naruto while breathing heavily. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke had taken the hit for him. He looked into Sasuke's eyes and saw a pair of whirling black commas over his red pupils.

"I'm" huff "done for." Huff "It's up to you" huff "to stop him."

Sasuke's eyes rolled back up into his head and he collapsed beside Naruto.

Naruto stared between his barely breathing teammate, his nearly dead partner, and his dead girlfriend and something inside of him just snapped.

He felt a rush of power, darker and more dangerous than anything he had ever felt before. His wounds suddenly closed, the senbon in them literally burning off into nothing as he got to his feet, surrounded by an aura of red flame.

Deep inside him he heard the Kyuubi's vicious laughter as the rage and hatred Naruto was feeling both fed him and drew on his power.

_**Yes, that's it!! Draw on my power!! Let it flow through you!! Let the rage and hatred consume you!!**_

For once, Naruto didn't argue with the Kyuubi, instead reaching deeply inside of himself and drawing on the hidden reserves of power that were suddenly within reach.

"You…you BASTARD!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!" Naruto screamed.

The sudden rush of power had caused Haku to pause within one of his mirrors, staring in surprise at what was happening.

Naruto looked up, looking directly towards the one mirror with a heat presence coming from it. His eyes were a deep green-red and slitted. He growled and pulled down his mask; a growl which suddenly became overlaid with a hiss as Naruto's power triggered another change.

Naruto's arms and face became covered in golden, black-edged scales as his face took on a more feral aspect. His canines grew more pronounced and the scars on his face deepened until they looked even more like whisker marks. Within his mouth his fangs folded out, ready to strike.

Before Haku could even register that it had happened Naruto had leapt forward, fists extended, his hands looking like claws now. He slammed into the mirror Haku was in and shattered it. His hands closed around the throat of a completely overwhelmed Haku as the mirror was destroyed around him and held on as Naruto landed on the ground on the other side. He released one hand, reaching into his pocket and pulling out one of the curved kunai.

There were cries of dismay and fear from Tazuna and the members of Team 11 as they witnessed a red-enshrouded and scaled Naruto holding the strange masked nin in the air by one hand. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"I told you not to come. I told you that I did not want to have to kill a friend. But no, you had to come, and kill those precious to me. What do you have to say for yourself? Well, WHAT!!?!!?!" Naruto practically screamed this last part as he closed his fist tighter.

Struggling against the hand Haku replied. "I-I am Zabuza's servant. I am his tool. I was nothing before he saved me. I will die in service to him."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Wrong answer." He said coldly.

Before anyone could react Naruto's neck seemed to extend and his mouth gaped open, a pair of large fangs folding fully down from the roof of his mouth.

Naruto closed his mouth around Haku's mouth and bit, his fangs pumping a special poison into his veins.

Haku's scream of pain would have deafened anyone without Naruto's regenerative ability.

Naruto's head withdrew a moment later and he dropped Haku to the ground, the older boy struggling to stand but failing, falling down time and time again. Naruto stared down coldly at him as the venom from his bite began to take hold.

A sudden coughing sound and a struggled 'Naruto' caused him to spin on his heals. Lying on the ground a few meters away from him he saw Sakura, three bloody needles laying on the ground before her, reaching towards him and trying to crawl to him.

As Naruto rushed to her side the flames around him extinguished and the scales retreated. His scars and canines were still more pronounced, but he was no longer radiating the Kyuubi's chakra. As he knelt and turned Sakura over, Naruto did not notice the scales on his face fully retreat, leaving only the whisker marks, and his eyes becoming fully red.

Naruto nestled Sakura in his arms, holding her carefully and wishing sweet nothings to her. At that precise moment Naruto would not have left his girlfriend's side for anything, not even had the world been ending. Back by Tazuna, Uchiha Katsumi was too shocked and scared by what she had just witnessed to be annoyed. The only thought on her mind was a question of whether Naruto was really human.

* * *

Within the necklace around Sakura's neck a small red-blue fox shivered in a strange mixture of anticipation, fear, excitement, and anxiety.

_Brother!! That was Brother I just sensed!! Let me out!! Please, let me see Brother!!_

But the woman who she had chosen as Master could not hear her. The bond was still too fresh for Hakumei to contact her, much less to summon herself.

In silence she waited, crying out to see her brother again.

* * *

Kyuubi curled back up inside his clearing, the trees and ground showing new signs of charring. The Kit had slaughtered his opponent. Kyuubi had his fun. But now the Kit was crying over his girlfriend, and Kyuubi had no interest.

As the Greatest of the Bijuu, Nine Tailed Lord of the Demon Kitsune, Destroyer of Avalon began to fall asleep a strange thing happened. An odd thing. Something he was not prepared for.

Kyuubi sneezed.

* * *

Zabuza's jaw visibly dropped in shock and then anger as he witnessed Naruto bite Haku. The stern shinobi may never have admitted it, not even to him self, but deep down he had viewed the young man like a son. And now as he watched his one precious person collapse in a life-less heap at the hands of some no-name genin he felt anger and indignation boil up inside him.

Zabuza however had remained still for just a little too long.

Suddenly several dogs leapt out of the ground at his feet and latched onto him. They held him immobile long enough for Asuma to nail his shoulders with his trench knives, severing the muscles and the tendons and leaving them completely limp and useless at the assassin's side.

Kakashi was just about to charge up his one original jutsu when he heard a strange sound.

CLAP CLAP CLAP

As Kakashi looked beyond Zabuza to where the mist was fading away at the end of the bridge he saw something that surprised him. At the end of the bridge, the corrupt businessman Gatou stood at the head of a swarm of several hundred mercenaries.

"Gatou, why are you here../? and what's with all these men!?"

"Hehehe, the plan has changed….well actually, I planned to do this from the beginning. Zabuza I'm going to have you killed here." Gatou said, grinning.

"What?!" Zabuza exclaimed turning now that Kakashi's dogs had released him.

"I never planned on paying you any money. Hiring a normal ninja from a village is expensive and they may betray me…so I get you missing-nins who are easy to take care of afterwards. I have the ninjas kill each other and once they're weakened I kill them off with numbers…it doesn't cost me anything, good plan don't you think?"

Zabuza's face was a mixture of anger and indignation, growing greater by the moment.

"The only problem in the plan was you…Zabuza." Gatou continued. "The Demon of the Hidden mist? What a joke, if you ask me…hehe, you're just a…cute little baby devil. We can easily kill you now!!"

Gatou's last statement was punctuated by cheers from the rough-looking mercenaries behind them.

"Zabuza." Asuma said quietly, stepping up next to the man. "Your employer has betrayed you, which means that you no longer have a reason to fight us, particularly since we would kill you. You will be free to go after we deal with Gatou."

Zabuza looked at Asuma for a moment, a look of sadness in his face. Finally he spoke.

"I…I have nothing left. The only person who ever truly mattered to me is dead. All I ask is for a single kunai, so that I can kill Gatou."

Asuma could hear the pain and honesty in the man's voice. After a few seconds he nodded and drew a kunai, placing it in Zabuza's mouth.

Zabuza looked back at Gatou, who began slowly taking a few steps back as he realized the two groups of ninja were no longer fighting one another.

"Gatou is yours, Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist. May you die well."

With a cry of anger through his clenched teeth Zabuza sped forward towards the mercenaries. Using his skill and the kunai in his mouth Zabuza slaughtered all who stood in his way, ignoring any and all injuries in his mindless drive to reach Gatou.

When he reached the man, who had been scrambling back towards the edge of the bridge and the boat he had waiting, Zabuza ignored his pleas to spare him. With one quick dive and twist of his head he severed the man's throat, his momentum forcing the now dying criminal baron off the edge of the bridge and into the waiting water below.

Zabuza turned to find Asuma and Kakashi finishing off the last few remaining mercenaries. He also saw the dark-haired boy who had been with Asuma during their first encounter carrying Haku towards him. Zabuza struggled against his wounds and weariness which were fast overtaking him, trying to reach Haku, but ultimately he failed and collapsed, rolling onto his back as he hit the ground.

A few moments later Zabuza looked over at Haku's body as Sasuke set it beside him. It was clear that Haku was no longer among the living, his body already turning pale and ashen.

"Goodbye, Haku. Goodbye…my son."

With a sad smile of regret on his face Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, left this world for good.

* * *

Naruto looked back over his shoulder just before he stepped off the bridge, smiling back at Inari. Lachesis, who had recovered fully from her wounds, was wrapped around the outside of his jacket and hissed happily at the bright sun streaming down from overhead.

It had taken a solid two weeks of work after Gatou's defeat, but the villagers had completed the bridge. Naruto had used his Kage bunshin to help carry supplies as well, speeding the process up. It helped that it kept him away from Team 7 for most of the day. Ever since the battle on the bridge Kaede and Shiromaru had been nervous around him, and Katsumi had avoided his presence like the plague, even going so far as to hide behind her teammates whenever he was in the room.

Teams 7 and 11 were finally leaving, Sasuke and Sakura having finally fully recovered from their wounds, and the entire village had gathered to see them off. Thus there was a crowd of people on the Wave side of the bridge and the bridge itself cheering as their saviors from Konoha left.

As Naruto turned to step off the bridge and follow his teammates Inari reached up and tugged on Tazuna's jacket.

"Ne, grampa. The bridge still needs a name."

Tazuna smiled and looked back at the retreating shinobi.

"Hmmm. I think….yes I think I shall call it the Golden Viper Bridge."

Inari looked up at his father.

"Why name it that grampa?"

Tazuna smiled a sad little smile.

"Because, I asked that spectacular boy just what he was, after he saved us. And all he said was…"

* * *

Naruto looked up at old man Tazuna, Sakura still cradled gently in his arms. Tazuna gulped upon seeing Naruto's eyes and on seeing the strange golden scales reappear across the bridge of his nose momentarily as he replied.

"I am Konoha's Golden Viper. And all those who threaten the innocent or my precious people shall learn to fear my name."

* * *

AN: And here it is. I did my best to put the entire remainder of the Wave arc into a single chapter. Unlike Phoenix Rising I had no real reason to draw out the training or what not, particularly since nothing particularly interesting would have been happening this time.

To forestall a few possible questions that I foresee, no this story is in no way crossed with any sort of connection with Arthurian Legend, or any anime, scifi, or books that make connections with it. I simply chose Avalon for the name of an ancient civilization cuz I like the sound of it. The name of the red-blue fox is Hakumei, if you didn't catch that. It means "Twilight" and it is important. And Naruto's lack of qualms about killing. Well, remember, this is a Naruto who has survived a brutal attack on his life, is much more in connection with both the Kyuubi and his instinctual side, and who was raised by Anko, who despite some people not believing this, is a very, very, VERY good assassin. And Naruto just watched three of his most important people (yes, despite their occasional rivalry Sasuke is an important friend to him) seemingly die or be put close to death. His one and only goal was to kill Haku, although if Haku had provided a different answer, such as "They aren't actually dead", well, he might have kept his life. But I felt it was important to get across that this is a darker Naruto than canon, one much more willing to kill, and thus a sacrifice had to be made. I do hope that any Haku fanboys out there won't hate me, as I gave him a very happy role in Phoenix Rising. He is still alive and well there.

I'm really wondering what people will think about the twists that have occurred in this chapter. There have been hints about certain things earlier, but several of the underlying plots just burst from the ground here. I'm sure a lot of you are wondering what the deal with Hakumei is, and what that grove Sakura found was. And I'm also sure that many of you are wondering about the larger snakes that appeared, as well as Naruto's transformation.

The grove and Hakumei will be explained in later chapters. What I will say is that the much cheerier Hakumei was almost not a fox . Just read the omake below to see one of the more humorous possibilities that it almost became. (PS, the Omake is not what would have happened if I had made Hakumei this critter)

As to his transformation, I'd rather not say just yet. Though several of you have suspected that something like this might happen. But to the giant snake bit, NO THEY ARE NOT SUMMONS!! They are bunshins, and what happened to them is very much part of Lachesis' abilities. Abilities of her I have shown you so far. Ability Number 1, changing her size. Ability Number 2, Kage Bunshin snake edition. Ability Number 3, multi-valent venom (aka, she can inject various sorts of venoms). Ability Number 4, what I affectionately call Super Size Me Baby.

There is the distinct possibility that there may not be any chapters for the next week or so. This is because I am a little behind on my word count for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) because of having several bouts of creativity for my fic projects, as well as the fact that I have acquired three new Wii games in the past week and I am going to enjoy them a lot this week. I have picked up Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World, which I recommend to any RPG fan and anyone who has played the original Tales of Symphonia on the GameCube. I have picked up Sonic Unleashed, which I unfortunately cannot say Yay or Nay on yet as I have yet to put it in my system. It only came out a couple of hours ago, and I have either a) been working on finishing this chapter, or b) playing the third game I picked up. That third game is Castlevania: Judgement. It is in my opinion a pretty well put together fighting game. Standard 2 v 2 arrangement, but with free roaming in the arena. Character designs are good, if a bit annoying because they are by the same guy who did Death Note. I swear to god Simon Belmont looks like Light Yagami, Danasty or whatever the hell his name is looks like one of those freaking shinigami, the one with the bandages and the hair and the creepy eyes. And Alucard, who is SUPPOSED to be the most bad-ass of bad-asses, looks like freaking GAY SEPHIROTH!!! And no, I do not feel that that is an exaggeration. And I mean, Sephiroth was already gay, so imagine what it means to call someone looking like a GAY Sephiroth.

…ok, took a deep breath. Rant over with. But, yeah, it's a solid fighter, with pretty good graphics and good voice acting. I think they used Steve Blum, who voices among others Spike from Cowboy Beebop, for Simon Belmont, which despite the character designs made him pretty cool. Oh, and advice in advance for anyone who plays this, be careful when you use your finishers, which are used when you have a full sub-item gauge by pressing down on the d-pad if you are using the wiimote nunchuck combo, make sure your opponent isn't about to launch an attack. Running into their attack will cancel your finisher before you connect and fully trigger it. And trust me, you don't want that.

Also, a discussion with my best friend (and an explanation from him about the Grail War in Fate Stay Night) has lead me to a very crazy idea. I request that no one take this idea, at least not without asking permission first, giving me proper credit, and making a notation that they are writing a version of a fic based on an idea by me, as I intend to actually write this fic once I have properly watched and studied Fate Stay Night. Anyways, my best friend kept on harping on Heroic Swordsmen because of another fic idea of his, and it hit me. The Hero of Time could be an Archer, the Hero of Twilight a Saber, and Zelda a Caster. All I'd need is to develop the rest of the characters and I could have a very interesting Grail War indeed.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please remember to Read and Review. Technique Names and Review Responses are at the bottom, after the below Omakes. Have a few laughs on me.

* * *

**Konoha' Golden Viper: Omake #1 – It Doesn't Do Anything**

It was a couple hours later, as the sun was beginning to near the edge of the horizon and twilight was dawning, when Sakura finally snapped out of her daze. She gazed around fearfully as it suddenly dawned on her that she had absolutely no idea where she was, and that the air around her was almost supernaturally saturated with water. Her hand instantly shot down to the weapons pouch on her hip as she looked around.

She was standing in a small twilit clearing with a small pool of water in the middle. The pool was deep, and the sides of it were covered in crystals, glittering in the day's waning light. At several points around the pool there were spires of these crystals reaching towards the sunlight above, and in the center of the pool there was a single solitary blue gem, clear as the ocean, reaching toward the heavens.

The trees around the edge of the clearing were packed so tightly together that only a small opening behind her, which seemed to be a small tunnel that led under the roots of one of the massive trees, would have allowed anyone access.

Sakura relaxed as she realized that she was alone, and began to look around in amazement at the wonder she had found.

"It's...it's beautiful." She whispered, kneeling by the edge of the pool and stroking one of the small crystals.

There was something about this place that just felt right to her. She felt at peace, almost as if she were one with nature.

As she sat there pondering the beauty and tranquility of this small hidden grove a small head poked its way out from a hole just under the surface of the water on the other side of the pool. It was a small red platypus with blue tinting to its limbs and tail. Silently it swum out into the water and approached the distracted human female.

It had been a very long time since any human with 'the gift' had found her sacred grove. She had almost given up hope that any ever would. Her last contractor had witnessed the destruction of his entire civilization at the hands of the Kyuubi and had broken their bond in despair, forcing her to return to her grove.

The pink-haired girl began to look up and the platypus froze, eyes glittering as she attempted to make a decision. By the time Sakura had looked up, searching for whatever presence she had just felt, there was just a platypus, floating there in the middle of the water. Having been caught, the platypus only had one option. It chattered.

Because, as we all know, the platypus isn't a super hero, it isn't a rock star, and it certainly isn't a secret agent. They simply don't do anything at all.

* * *

**Konoha's Golden Viper: Omake #2 - Unstoppable**

"Just who are you?" Old Man Tazuna asked as Naruto cradled Sakura in his arms.

Naruto looked up at old man Tazuna, Sakura still cradled gently in his arms. Tazuna gulped upon seeing Naruto's eyes and on seeing the strange golden scales reappear across the bridge of his nose momentarily as he replied.

"I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch."

Somewhere across the universe Kishimoto was being sued for copyright infringement.

* * *

**Technique Names**

**Fuuton: Kaze Tate**--_Wind Release: Wind Shield_/ This jutsu creates a small tornado like wind around the user. In general this jutsu is only able to deflect the average kunai and shuriken and has several other minor uses. But the true power of this defensive jutsu lies in the amount of chakra used in it, the more chakra used means the stronger the shielding action will become. There is no real definite answer as to just how powerful this jutsu could become, but it could most definitely blow away an entire army if used correctly. (low C-Class Ninjutsu) (Created by Tellemicus Sundance)

**Makyō Hyōshō**--_Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors/_ Using his kekkei genkai, Haku can create a dome of twenty-one mirrors made out of ice to trap an opponent. Twelve remain at ground level, eight are placed above the first twelve and angled toward the ground, and the final mirror is above the rest and facing the ground. Haku can then enter one of the mirrors and travel between them at an incredible speed; in fact, the time in transit is almost instantaneous. During transit, Haku can throw needles while remaining virtually unassailable. If the mirror Haku is currently in is shattered, he can leap out of one of the fragments and continue his attack. Though they are made from ice, they are pressured with enough chakra to resist fire almost completely (Sasuke's fire jutsu was barely able to make the rimfrost melt). While inside the mirrors, Haku is moving so fast that the outside world appears to move in slow motion. The technique requires a large amount of chakra to maintain, so Haku's movement becomes progressively slower the longer he maintains the mirrors. (A-Class Ninjutsu) (Momochi Haku)

**Suiton: Kawa o Chikara**--_Water Release: River of Force/_ This technique condenses the water moisture into the air into a concentrated stream of water projected from the palms of the user. (C-Class Ninjutsu)

* * *

**Review Responses** – Which will certainly be to funnier reviews next time thanks to my admittedly lame Omakes.

Paladin13 – Again, thank you for catching my mistake. Readers like you pointing those accidents out to me help me fix them before most other people read the chapters.

gunnslie – Thank you very much. I do sometimes ask for suggestions or opinions from my readers, but even then the ultimate decision on what I do will always what I feel is right for the story. Take Haku's death for instance. I'm sure that some of my readers expected me to keep him alive, since I did so in Phoenix Rising. But instead, for many reasons of plot necessity, the poor boy had to die, a quite horrible death too I assure you. Snake venom is a nasty thing. The stuff IS a highly derived form of saliva after all.

Kyuubiwolf23 – No, you were most certainly not wrong. Although I was originally going to hold off on him earning it until later on, several aspects of this chapter as I wrote it changed my mind. Just try not to overwrite a harem fic. Too many people write obsessively harem fics just because of fanboying/fangirling. Just remember, a well written explanation for the reason, in a well written fic, can make such a thing new and fresh though. Whatever you do, drop me a line when you publish it and I'll check it out. If it meets my minimum standards of quality (which have to do with writing itself not whether or not they did this pairing or sumsuch) I'll add it to my watch list. And remind me sometime when I'm not in the middle of a rush of new games and of heavy writing and I'll check out Full Moon.

Until next time…

ZI

Kontraband – I'm certain I already sent you a reply directly, so here's a shortened response. Sasuke had a different past several years in this story, and has had a different Naruto to interact with. It's changed him, and in my opinion for the better.

Lachesis is god. Nuff said. She is personally one of my two favorite characters for this story, and at some point I may do a character poll of my original characters to see who my fans like the most (for all my Naruto fics).

The costume is supposed to reflect the differences between Naruto of this story and Naruto of canon. This story he is clearly much more serious and a lot darker. The glasses were partly for fun, and partly because of his desire to hide certain features of his altered anatomy, something that if you read this chapter closely may not be a problem anymore.

I've basically tried to write a Naruto as I would expect the actual one to have become given these life experiences.

Sakura seeming fangirlish…well, I can understand why it might seem that way. But remember, this is a girl who has crushed on and quickly begun to truly love Naruto since a young age. She has gone against her family's prejudice of Naruto to be with him, even in light of his revelation to her about the Kyuubi. She and him are very much in love, and I hope certain events in this chapter have underscored just how deep that bond is. Here's a hint. Had Sakura not regained consciousness then Zabuza, Gatou, all his men, and possibly some of the Konoha shinobi, would have all been killed or at the very least placed in the intensive care unit of a hospital somewhere.

And yes, as you could see, it was Kakashi's team. But obviously the shit with Katsumi is going to be a bit different from now on.

*sees Katsumi peering around a nearby building corner at Naruto with hearts in her eyes*

…Or maybe not. You'll just have to wait and see.

And as I said in my earlier response, I know a little Japanese and use certain phrases in my own everyday language.

Jaa ne, tomodachi.

-ZI

Bobboky – Hehe, why thank you very much.

zeynel – Hehe, thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. I put a lot of work into it.

DustyBunnyQueen – After this chapter I'm sure you can figure out who Batman is. Here's a clue. He killed a man. And thank you. I worked hard on that last chapter, and I worked hard on this one as well. I hope you enjoyed it.

alone shadow dream – To your first question, I'll admit that yes, that will be found, eventually. To your second question, I think this chapter has answered it already. To the third, there will be a little bit of filler between now and the exams, but likely not a ton. In fact, I may or may not get to the encounter with the Suna shinobi in the next chapter.

I.E.T.S. – Hehe, yeah, most of my English teachers, the history teacher who taught us some Art History as part of his normal world history course, and my U.S. History teacher who also taught the Art History class at my high school all told me the same thing. As to the novel, all I will share is that it is an anime-style science fiction story, and that when I complete it (or at least the first volume) I will indeed put it up on fiction press dot com. I'll reactivate my account if I can, or make a new one if I can't. And yes, those sunglasses were in fact what Kamina wore. I was trying to emphasize Naruto's nearly bare chest, the flames on his jacket, and his manliness. (despite him only being like thirteen at the time) And yes, Tengen Toppa is one of my favorite anime of recent years. I am considering buying the complete box set once they release it. Eventually. Haha. And no, Naruto will NOT be joining the Dai Gurren Dan (or whatever the hell its called).

I.E.T.S. – And here is the response to review #2: As you can see it was in fact Kakashi's team. And I feel the trashing (literally if you will excuse the pun) was much more worthwhile than a simple cat fight. And as you can see the tantrum occurred, though its such an annoying thing to write I simply chose to let Naruto deal with it off screen and let the reader assume from the final few scenes that Naruto got sense through to the brat. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I did. Someone asked me not to do the Wave Arc because they feel it's a waste to do it, but personally for me the Zabuza/Haku encounters are not only crucial to Naruto's development as a shinobi, even in stories where his history has been slightly different, but it is also a good point to both introduce most of the characters to the truth of being a shinobi, as well as providing a good turning point for Naruto from being skilled (or unskilled) as the case may be depending on the fic, to him beginning to realize his true strength. Besides, I just like Haku and Zabuza, and even if I have to butcher in a cameo, they will be present in any Naruto fic I write.

dragonshaun9 – Haha, well, thanks for faving it. Don't worry about it, I sometimes only alert fics rather than faving them. And yes, but Naruto would not have lasted long against Zabuza on his own. In fact, it was only because they were surprised by Naruto's attacks so thoroughly that Haku got him out of there. Zabuza might have been able to fight, but it was clear that if even one more of those brats had power like this he would be in trouble. This is also why the other three shinobi, who from reading the manga again I'm sure must have existed, were brought along.

AlphaDelta1001 – Hehe, thank you. I appreciate the praise. And here you are, a brand new chapter of Konoha's Golden Viper. I hope you feel this chapter was amazing as well.

Moonfal – As always it is a pleasure to read a review from you my friend. I refused to believe that the fight would go identical to canon with all the differences there were to the characters (and Kakashi not even being there). And I refused to have Naruto pull a take him on all by himself thing. Even with all his more enhanced training and other stuff, Naruto is still no match for a Jounin for anything more than a minute or two, tops. Skill and experience will always beat raw power after all. So I wrote it the way I honestly felt it would have gone. And as I think I may have said in a direct response already, thank you for not skipping it out of boredom. ^_^

Anihilation – I'm sorry my friend, but it was Kakashi's. That's why there was the groan throughout the house. Nope, as you can see, finding Haku early didn't change anything. Well nothing important. Um, not sure if I sent you a direct response yet, but I will pair Sasuke with someone. Just not sure who it will be. I'll honestly have to think on it. Thanks for a reviewing again man, always a pleasure to hear from you. And if you haven't read my other fics yet, please do. I'd be interested in hearing what you think of them. (Yes people, I know I constantly remind you to check out my other fics, but so sue me. I am actually kind of proud of them in a sick twisted came from my mind way, and I always like to get people to check them out as well. I know they might not equal cup of tea to some of you, but hey, you never know until you try it, right?)

Okiro Zangetsu – Haha,…no, not in this story at least. I always wondered though, what if Transformers landed in Naruto's world? What sort of forms would they take? My personal guest, they would do it ala Beast Wars and take the form of various large summons. And I don't know how I do it either. I think it's just the natural progression of things as more and more the characters and their skills and development comes into play. And thank you, I am very gratified with such praise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

the DragonBard – Well, if you like that you should check out Phoenix Rising, one of my other Naruto fics. No Sakura, but it is Hina and Ino with Naruto.

Not the Sage Arts exactly. I've developed some history for the Naruto world with regards to that stuff, and it's beginning to appear. All I will say is that what Jiraiya calls Sage Arts does not actually turn everyone who uses it froglike.

As to the transformation, well, whether he can do it when not using Kyuubi-mode you will have to wait and see.

Hehehe, oh yes. Her boyfriend has stamina after all.

HollowRedBlood – First, let me start off by saying, on the record, that I was so overwhelmed by your review that I very nearly cried in happiness. To be praised such by one who clearly has a discerning taste in authors and clearly does not always review, even when they read something, well it is simply an honor. To be told that I have renewed someone's faith in the authors of this sight is downright overwhelming. And on top of that for someone to actually call them selves not simply my reader or an enjoyer of my works, but my fan, that is just amazing. All I can say is that I will strive to be worthy of this praise with all future chapters, and I will strive to make my other stories worthy of such praise as well.

*bows*

Thank you.

-Zaion Indulias


	9. Chapter 9: Aftereffects

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 9: Aftereffects

It took Teams 7 and 11 only a single day to return to Konoha. Unlike the way to the Wave Country, all of the genin were capable of leaping from tree to tree and sticking to the branches with chakra, rapidly increasing their pace of travel.

From the moment they had left the Wave Naruto and his Kage bunshins had taken point. Kakashi had tried to over ride Naruto's initiative, but Asuma had shot him down. Naruto's vast chakra capacity and skill with Kage bunshin made him the perfect man for the job. While the rest of the shinobi formed up with Asuma following Naruto and Kakashi taking the rear, Naruto frowned and continued to wonder on something.

Kakashi had always been like a big brother figure to him when he was younger, so why was the silver haired ninja trying to take control over him now? Was he just angry that he hadn't received Naruto as a student like he had requested? Or was there something more to it?

Naruto filed these thoughts away for future analysis as he let his mind drift to other matters. Like Sakura, and Sasuke, and whether he could trust Kakashi to not spread around word that Naruto had drawn on the Kyuubi's power. Sakura was the easiest matter to address. Since the fight on the bridge she had refused to be apart from him any more than was necessary. She had even nearly gotten them in trouble with Asuma when she followed him into the bathroom to take a shower with him. He could understand her behavior though. Sakura loved him, as much as he loved her, and she had nearly died on the bridge. In fact, she almost certainly would have died if Naruto hadn't stopped Haku when he did. It was no wonder she only felt safe when he was around.

Sasuke was a little more difficult to deal with. All their rivalry and joking aside, Sasuke was one of the few people in the world Naruto considered important to him. After the night he was nearly burned alive seven years before Naruto's outlook on Konoha had soured. He viewed almost all of the Uchiha, with the notable exceptions of Sasuke and Itachi, as the scum of the earth and he was always on the lookout for danger coming from their corner. And he had been forced to grow up fast and regard the village as a truly hostile place for him. The only reason he hadn't outright run away was because he had learned who his parents were, and learning his father had been the Yondaime Hokage had made Naruto's dedication to become the Hokage even stronger. After all, he reasoned, he didn't have to LIKE the villagers to protect them and ensure that Konoha stood proud and strong.

But I digress. Getting back to Sasuke, Naruto trusted him more than he trusted any Uchiha, but he was still worried about what Sasuke would say when questioned by his father when they returned home, as even if Kakashi kept his mouth shut, Katsumi would certainly relay the details of the mission to her clan head. Naruto sighed and mentally crossed his fingers, hoping that in the end Sasuke's friendship would win out over loyalty to a family that he had lost faith in after learning the truth about his brother's 'betrayal'. After all, after Naruto had reluctantly admitted to Sasuke about being the container of the Kyuubi, Sasuke HAD revealed his own dark secret, that he had many times considered leaving the village and joining his brother.

Kakashi talking was the most troublesome and the least easy to deal with. He couldn't very well ask the man not to spill the story everywhere, as he was certain that his ni-san, who wasn't acting so brotherly lately, might suspect the Kyuubi of influencing him. Naruto growled silently as he realized that while Kakashi might be right to suspect that, the simple fact was Kyuubi had done nothing to his mind that the bastard villagers hadn't done a thousand fold already. Any darkness in him was their fault, their responsibility. The bastard fox had nothing to do with it.

When they finally arrived at Konoha after nearly a day of moving at full speed the sun had barely risen. As Naruto stopped and dispelled his clones, waiting for his teammates to catch up, he caught sight of two familiar looking lazy Chunin lounging inside the guard post just outside the gates.

"Hey Izumo, how's it hanging?!" Naruto yelled out, cupping his hands to amplify his voice.

His target looked up and blinked, surprised to see the younger blond shinobi standing on the crest of the nearest hill in the road. And especially surprised to see his wide smile completely uncovered. Didn't he used to wear a mask?

Shaking him self out of his daze Izumo turned to his partner Kotetsu and shook him out of his nap.

"Hurry to the Hokage's tower and inform Hokage-sama that Team 7 has returned."

Kotetsu blinked, looked past Izumo at Naruto, and then nodded. Yawning he stood, stretched for a moment and then disappeared in a leaf shunshin.

The remaining members of Team 7 and the members of Team 11 caught up to Naruto a few minutes later. Sakura instantly tackled Naruto with a hug, since thanks to the arrangement for the trip back she hadn't seen him in nearly twelve hours.

As Naruto grinned and hugged his girlfriend back Asuma and Kakashi approached the guard post, handing Izumo their shinobi IDs and their mission orders. After a quick check to confirm authorization to return, which was a formality really in their case, Izumo stepped aside and allowed the eight shinobi to enter the village. Given the smell radiating off the wild looking brunette and her dog they all likely wanted to report to the Hokage immediately so that they could get to a shower as fast as fucking possible.

As the eight shinobi reentered Konoha, none of them noticed a nondescript ANBU with a root symbol on his mask lurking in the trees nearby, silently observing them. Neither did they notice a dark-haired young woman wearing the clothing of the Konoha Military Police eyeing them from a coffee shop near the entrance as they passed through the gate and made a bee line for the Hokage's tower.

* * *

"And that was when Naruto and Sakura disobeyed my direct orders to guard the client and instead engaged the enemy directly." Kakashi finished speaking.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to face the two accused genin. Sakura looked everywhere but at him, but Naruto looked him straight in the eye, the very image of confidence.

"Hokage-sama, my…unique abilities granted me an ability to target the enemy for a surprise counter attack. Only Sasuke, Asuma, Sakura, and myself are aware of the special codes we've worked out to give ourselves an edge in combat, thus there was no way I could alert Kakashi-san to their location without alerting them that I knew. Sakura was able to distract three of them and clear the mists enough to allow Kakashi-san and Asuma-sensei to see the real threats."

Behind his clasped hands the Hokage smiled faintly. What Naruto had done was sound tactically, even if it had technically violated an order from his superior officer.

"Be that as it may, you did disobey an order from your commanding officer."

"Pardon my interrupting Hokage-sama, but there are two things to take into consideration here. First, as Asuma was still in command of the mission, Kakashi-san technically did not enter the direct chain of command where my self and my teammates were concerned. Second, if a shinobi is required to sit and wait for orders to do everything then he is of no use in a combat situation. Had I followed Kakashi-san's commands we would have lost a clear opening that I had received to cut our opponent's forces down by half. Given the extreme danger of the situation, I felt it was better to accept whatever punishment I received for disobeying a command than to risk the lives of myself and my fellow shinobi on obeying an order I knew to be disadvantageous."

Naruto finished and remained attention.

The Hokage nodded thoughtfully.

"Very well, I will wait until I have received your team leaders' written reports tomorrow to make a decision, but it would appear that you acted appropriately within the code of conduct for shinobi of Konoha. And you, Kakashi. I'm ashamed that you are making such a deal out of this. You and I both know very well that had the offender been anyone other than Namikaze Naruto the offense would never even have made it into your report."

Kakashi looked down in embarrassment, thankful that his team had been ordered to wait outside the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi folded his hands across his desk.

"Now, how did you finish off the other two shinobi?"

Asuma chuckled.

"We didn't pops. The brat here and the rest of my team took on this ice user who was serving Zabuza, and when the man seemingly killed Sakura and Sasuke Naruto went blind with rage and unleashed the Kyuubi's power. That and his subsequent killing of the young man distracted Zabuza long enough for Kakashi and me to get in critical blows. Zabuza himself died shortly there after, after he himself killed his employer who had shown up to 'cancel their deal', so to speak."

When Asuma had mentioned the Kyuubi Sarutobi's eyes had widened, worry that he would have to order his own son executed for treason flooding his mind.

"Asuma, do you realize what you have just done?" He asked seriously, his eyes darkening.

Surprisingly, it was Naruto who replied.

"Ne, it's alright Oji-san, everything's cool. I already told Sakura about the fox over a year ago, and I told Sasuke as well after the incident. You told me the law didn't apply to me, right?"

Sarutobi sighed in relief and smiled.

"Yes, that is very true Naruto. Tell me though, what exactly happened? If the Kyuubi is taking control of you I need to know so that precautions can be made."

Naruto chuckled. "What, that old wind bag? All he can do is teach me techniques and feed power to me. It's true that I get a bit wild when I channel his chakra, but that seems to be just the nature of being bound to a fox demon. As to my mind, well, he just plain can't affect it. That's why that virus of Orochimaru's only downloaded some basic knowledge, but wasn't able to actually take over. Hehe, I bet the snake-sannin will be surprised when he finds out his pet project infected the son of his rival, and it couldn't do anything except make me stronger."

Naruto chuckled again.

"And as you can see, channeling so much of the Kyuubi's chakra has had an added effect. My scales are no longer visible unless I'm actively drawing on the dark power that resides with in me. Isn't this great?" Naruto's voice carried great enthusiasm, and the Hokage couldn't help but smile and chuckle as well.

* * *

The debriefing took another twenty minutes before the three genin were released. They were told to take two days off to rest and relax and then to meet at their usual training ground at 8am on the third day. The Hokage kept the two Jounin, and called in the rest of Team 11 to complete their debriefing.

Sasuke sighed and took a seat on one of the couches in the antechamber as soon as the doors had closed behind his cousin.

"I might as well remain here. Father is going to want the whole story out of us, and better I have to go through the questioning and the cross examination once rather than multiple times." Sasuke said exasperatedly as he leant backwards with his hands linked behind his head and his eyes closed.

Naruto observed Sasuke for a few moments with a calculating look before speaking, his voice dripping with ice and edged with steel.

"And just what are you going to tell your father when he inquires as to how I beat Haku?" Naruto asked.

Beside him Sakura's arm tightened around his own, frightened that he was about to attack their teammate.

Sasuke opened one eye and smirked at his teammate.

"What do you think I'm going to tell him? The truth, or at least what I can remember of it. I was conveniently unconscious for the entire duration of your Kyuubi flare-up after all. And as technically I have no knowledge that the fox is within you, I can't speculate as to what you did while I was out."

The smile that Sasuke then sent his teammate as he indicated his intention to prevaricate to his own father was genuine, sealing Naruto's trust in him.

"After all, Katsumi will tell him everything she saw anyways, you can count on that. She may be after you, but her first loyalty has always been to the clan. If I try to blatantly lie to protect you then he will get suspicious. If he thinks I'm still loyal to the clan then at least you have an inside ear on what those bastards are talking about."

The way Sasuke spoke about his own clan Naruto would almost think he didn't like them. Oh wait, that's right. Sasuke didn't like them. In fact, as stated before, the only reason he remained in Konoha was his teammates.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

It was Sakura who replied to what amounted to an overt declaration of alliance with Naruto against the Uchiha Clan.

"I'm…I'm very glad that there is at least one person our age who Naruto and I can trust."

Sakura clung closer to her boyfriend.

Sasuke's face took on a serious look and he nodded.

"Whatever happens, if they ever try anything against you, you know I'll be there to help."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement of Sasuke's support and then wrapped his arm tightly around Sakura's waste. There was a swirl of wind and leaves and Naruto and Sakura disappeared in a leaf shunshin. Sasuke smirked and leant back on the couch, his frown quickly returning.

Within his mind, Sasuke was calculating strategies to give Naruto and Sakura for fighting against the Sharingan, as well as various escape routes from the village should anything ever happen. This was a favorite past time of his ever since he had learned the truth about his brother. And after all, it's not everyday you befriend someone with a demon sealed into their belly.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura reappeared just outside the entrance to the Hokage's tower, startling a pair of yawning Chunin who were on their way in to receive their assignments. Naruto smiled apologetically at the two blinking shinobi and then turned to walk towards the district where Sakura lived, his arm wrapped protectively around her waste. Sakura still clung to him in her exhaustion, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked.

After a few minutes one of the little thoughts that had been nagging at the back of his mind for the last week finally resolved, causing him to glance down at Sakura's neckline. Hanging there was the small necklace of a blue and red fox that she had somehow acquired during the mission to the Wave. What he didn't remember was when or how she had gotten it; it had just seemed to be there one day. Naruto didn't even bother to set up his question as he began to speak, as Sakura had already long since grown use to the way Naruto's mind worked lately, as if discrete portions mulled over thoughts or issues and then reported them to a central authority or something.

"Sakura, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." He began, calmly and with a thoughtful look on his face.

Sakura looked up at him with a slight frown on her face, but it vanished when she saw he was just curious about something.

"What's that Naruto?" She replied.

"Where did that necklace come from?"

Sakura stopped walking at the question, nearly causing Naruto to fall over as her arms were still wrapped around his waste.

"I…I'm not really sure." She answered after looking down at her necklace for a few moments. "I…I found this really beautiful place that day in the Wave, when I um, well, when I stalked off."

Sakura looked at the ground, guilty that she had ever even thought that Naruto could betray her.

"It was this beautiful, almost mystical grove with a deep pool in the middle of it. It was so enthralling, but I thought I heard something behind me. But when I turned to look there was nothing there, just this necklace on the ground. I figured I had just kicked it up out of the dirt when I walked into the grove."

Sakura fingered the necklace lightly, stroking the three blue-tipped tails of the fox.

"I…I don't even remember the walk back to Tazuna's. I picked up the necklace and put it on, and the next thing I remember clearly was walking out of the woods near his home. But…I have felt strange every day since then."

Sakura closed her hand around the necklace and turned her head slightly, looking into her boyfriend's worried eyes.

"Every day since then, at sunset, I feel this sense of tranquility come over me. I…I feel almost like I could do anything…but I don't have a reason to. I'm…utterly content."

Sakura continued to stare up into Naruto's bright blue eyes.

"The only time I've ever felt that content before is when I'm with you, just held close and quite in your arms."

Naruto reached up and cupped Sakura's cheek lightly with his free hand, bending her head down slightly until their lips met. He kissed her softly, gentle for a moment until Sakura's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, pulling him closer as she returned his kiss with as much passion as she could muster. Naruto wrapped his arms around the girl he loved and, still lost in the kiss, performed a leaf shunshin away from the street they had been standing in.

* * *

Within the necklace around Sakura's neck a small red and blue fox giggled silently to her self. The interest of the one who smelt like Brother had been turned aside, at least for the moment. Hakumei didn't want to risk anything disrupting the tentative, fragile bond that had already begun to form between her and the contractor she had finally found. Not after more than three thousand years alone in that grove of crystal and water with no one to talk to but the winds at twilight.

* * *

Anko found Naruto and Sakura later that night when she returned from a late-night training session with her team.

She had been driving the Ino-Shika-Cho trio mercilessly, doing everything in her power to force the lazy-ass and his teammates to really work on their skills and not just rely on the famed effectiveness that their father's had proven occurred when their abilities were combined. Even after nine months of it she was still having mixed results. It seemed that Shikaku's famed laziness, extreme even for the typically laid back Nara clan, had carried over whole heartedly into the next generation.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the Yamanaka girl was an absolute control freak. Anko swore that if Ino hadn't learned to fear her after their genin survival exam then she would likely have been trying to give _her_ orders like she ordered her two teammates about.

At least Chouji was somewhat manageable. The bulky boy was so easily motivated by food it was scary, but at least he got serious about his training. Anko had been treating her team to lunch at an all you can eat barbecue restaurant for most of the nine months just to motivate Chouji alone. Of course, she didn't regret the cost. She was after all billing the Hokage for it, claiming it was a training expense. The old man knew better than to argue with the snake summoner because, after all, he didn't have a death wish.

When Anko found Sakura and Naruto her first thought was that it was about time. Even though they were young she knew full well that both of them had hit puberty and begun to feel the effects of their hormones. She her self had been the one to teach a very embarrassed Sakura the special jutsus that were developed specifically for kunoichi with regards to their reproductive processes after all. That's why she had no worry when she returned home only to walk in on the sight of a completely stark freaking naked Sakura laying on the couch in the living room with her body pressed against and draped over Naruto.

Naruto of course was just as skin bare as his girlfriend. From the way the couch was soaked and the way they were nestled together, Sakura's body pressed up against Naruto with one leg draped over his body, it was quite clear to Anko that her little Naruto had finally become a man.

Anko's mischievous nature promptly took over and she pulled a camera out from a hidden compartment in the wall of the hallway and snapped a few shots. Grinning madly to her self the snake summoner turned and walked towards her own room. She intended to have those pictures developed and framed, to immortalize this day. That and she knew it would embarrass the couple to no end, one of her favorite past times. Right up there with torturing cute little genin and teaching Naruto the fine art of assassination.

* * *

No one but Anko and some of the servants saw either hide or hair of Sakura or Naruto for the better part of the two days of their 'vacation'. Sakura's mother had dropped by the compound once, having learned that her daughter had finally returned from a mission and wondering why she hadn't come home. No one ever found out what was said, but everyone in the village knew that the mother of the 'demon's whore' had left the Namikaze estates in an extremely flustered state with a faint smile on her face.

They also knew that the majority of the Haruno males had trudged into the Konoha General Hospital at various points during the night with quite an odd assortment of injuries.

* * *

**April 19****th****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

When the third day finally rolled around Sasuke and Asuma were both leaning against one of the boulders in their usual training field when Sakura and Naruto finally showed up. Naruto was as usual wearing a pair of sunglasses, this time a slim pair of black ones that he could look out over the top of. Sasuke smirked as he realized the intimidation factor that Naruto had intentionally or unintentionally created by doing so.

He had also apparently gotten a new trench coat to replace the one that had been savaged during the battle with Haku barely a week and a half prior. The new one was black with flames at the bottom like before, but it also had a pair of black and gold serpents entwined around the Namikaze family crest on the back and a dark green inner lining. What really drew Asuma and Sasuke's attention though was not Naruto's choice of eyewear or new coat, but rather Sakura's choice of outfit.

The pink-haired kunoichi was wearing an outfit so drastically different from what she normally wore that both men's jaws dropped. In Asuma's case this caused his still smoldering cigarette to fall to the ground forgotten.

Her hair was still in its usual off-sides ponytail. The difference now though was that where before she had used a red ribbon to control the ponytail she had a black ribbon. Her lower legs were covered by what looked like a pair of black legwarmers with gold diamonds stitched into them, and her forearms were covered by similar garments. She wore a black miniskirt and a chain mesh bodysuit, similar to what Naruto's mother always wore except gold instead of black. Over the bodysuit she wore a tight black tube-top, another difference from Anko's outfit, and she had a necklace of a blue and red multi-tailed fox dangling down above her chest. To top this off she was wearing a black trench coat similar to Naruto's. It had a dark red inner lining and the gold flame symbol of the Namikaze family crest on the back of it, again with two black and gold snakes entwined around it, but it lacked the flames at the base like her boyfriend's. The cut was also a bit more form fitting than her boyfriend's or his mother's, and flared in a slightly different style than either of theirs.

Sasuke let out a whistle at just how much this outfit both revealed of Sakura's blossoming figure, and how it seemed to cover all the necessary parts artfully from view. The Uchiha was rewarded with Sakura blushing and Naruto sending him a tiny glare. Sasuke just threw his hands up in a defeated way and grinned, earning a chuckle and a shake of the head from Naruto. After all, the Uchiha had long given up trying to win Sakura away from Naruto as a lost, and decidedly dangerous, clause. He had settled for messing with the blonde's head as a revenge for any time he left him to deal with his cousin on his own, or at least until he found a girl who was worthy of his attentions.

That blond Yamanaka that Anko taught was always after him of course, as were a fair number of shinobi and civilian girls, but as far as Sasuke was concerned none of them had the complete package that he wanted in a woman. And after seeing Sakura show up wearing an outfit so much like Naruto and his mother, he was pretty certain he wasn't going to find that anywhere in Konoha itself.

"That's a…pretty heavy change of outfit, Sakura." Asuma commented, still stunned by the change.

Sakura blushed for a moment and then looked up with a smile.

"Thanks Asuma-sensei. Naruto bought it for me. It's a belated birthday gift since we were stuck in the Wave country during my birthday."

Sakura wrapped an arm around Naruto's arm and leant against him. Sasuke chuckled as the blond scratched the back of his head sheepishly. It was an old habit that seven years with Anko hadn't broken him of.

"Well, I must admit, it's certainly…different." Asuma said diplomatically. He was just a little bit worried after all that Anko might be rubbing off on his student.

"It's more than that, Asuma-sensei." Sasuke said with a smirk as he walked over to his teammates and embraced them in a hug. "It suits her. It makes her look more like the deadly kunoichi we all know she's becoming."

Sasuke stepped back from his faintly blushing teammates.

"And from the rumors that have been flying around that wasn't the only present Naruto gave you." Sasuke continued with a smirk.

Neither Naruto nor Sakura said anything. They didn't have to. The massive blushes that covered their faces confirmed everything for Sasuke. The Uchiha snorted and turned away from them.

"Just save it for when we don't have missions, you two love birds. I'd rather not have to listen to your moans while I'm trying to sleep."

Even though he couldn't see it, Sasuke was certain that Naruto and Sakura's faces had gotten significantly redder.

* * *

Asuma worked them hard that day, not even taking them in to receive a mission. Asuma wanted to work on improving their skills now while the memories and experiences from their last mission were still fresh in their minds. Asuma had resolved to find a weapons master to assist by giving his team a swarm of targets to dodge, but he had not found anyone suitable during his two days off. So instead he had worked with each of the three on their strengths.

Naruto he had using his Kage bunshin to both work on his assassination techniques but also to work on grasping his use of wind element chakra better. Asuma had noticed the intrigued looks Naruto had been casting towards his trench knives during the mission, and he had resolved to make sure that Naruto was fully prepared before he introduced him to just what they could do.

Sasuke was working with a set of Naruto's Kage bunshin on working to improve his Sharingan. He was still learning how to use it fully, but his lessons with his father over the past two days had given him insight into how to train with it. Of course, the first thing he had done when training had started was to formally bow to Naruto and request permission to copy the Fuuton: Kaze Tate that Naruto had used to deflect Haku's ice kunai.

Not that it did Sasuke any good of course. Sasuke's element appeared to be so firmly entrenched in fire that the best he good get out of the jutsu was a tiny buffet of wind around him forming a mini-dust devil. He hadn't appreciated the laughter of Naruto's clones and had simply proceeded to decimate then with a surprise assault with his Sharingan active.

The still laughing clones didn't stand a chance.

Sakura on the other hand was working hard on refining the Suiton: Kawa o Chikara. She had driven herself to the point of exhaustion several times during the day, but she had refused to stay down. Asuma had been impressed, as when he asked her why she was so driven to continue working on a technique that she had apparently already gotten down, she had only one surprisingly intelligent answer.

"I'm a kunoichi Asuma-sensei, and that means that I was unfortunately gifted with high levels of control, but absolutely abysmal chakra capacity. By continuously repeating a chakra intensive technique like this, I not only hone my control to a razor sharp edge that will let me do a lot more with a lost less chakra, but I am also forcing my body to adapt to the pressure and demand I am putting on it. If I keep this up along with all my other training then I should be able to improve my chakra capacity much faster." She said as she fought to control her breathing after her latest use of the technique. "Besides, Naruto finally convinced me to get off that diet I was on, and do you know what?"

Sakura looked up at her sensei with a grin as sweat dripped down her face.

"I've been eating four times as much as ever before, and I haven't gained any weight. In fact, I've felt like I have more energy and strength, and that feeling just keeps increasing every day. It's wonderful!"

Asuma just shook his head. His father may have disrupted his plans for an easy team by giving him these three rather than the Ino-Shika-Cho trio like he had requested, but at least they took their training seriously. He sincerely doubted that Anko had gotten that blonde Yamanaka girl she was teaching to start eating right. Not with the way she freaked out when she saw how much Sakura was eating during lunch earlier that day.

_Actually_, Asuma had to admit to himself, _it was kind of strange for her to be eating as much as she had. Hell, only Chouji and Naruto ever eat that much and they both had their reasons for not putting on weight (or at least any more than they already had). But Sakurawas keeping pace and hadn't gained a single pound._

Sarutobi Asuma decided that it was too much of a headache and that he just really didn't understand kunoichi. Besides, he had a date with Yuhi Kurenai, one of the other new Jounin sensei, and he didn't want any stray thoughts to cause him to put his foot in his mouth.

He finally called an end to training at a little after four o clock. All three of his students were exhausted but still grinning, and he badly needed to go take a shower and get cleaned up before his date. As Asuma leaf shunshined away his three students looked at one another, grinned, and as one spoke the thought that was on all of their minds.

"Let's get some ramen."

* * *

Now, it is a well known fact in Konoha that all shinobi develop extreme eccentricities. In fact, the level of eccentricities (or the 'Crazy Meter' as Sakura dubbed it) was very clearly defined in direct correlation with the level of skill and power of said shinobi. Mitarashi Anko, Hatake Kakashi, and Maito Gai were all examples of the upper curve of this trend within Konoha and were considered extreme examples. Maito Gai and Mitarashi Anko were in fact often held up to fresh genin as examples of how NOT to behave as shinobi.

It is however a little known fact that along with eccentricities comes a nigh psychotic obsession with some sort of food. For the nuke-nin Uchiha Itachi this was Pocky. For Mitarashi Anko this manifested as a deep seated need and desire for dango. Due to the fact that she always used it to fight off the demons of her past it's no surprise that her adopted son developed a similar love of the sweet dumplings in order to deal with his own bad memories.

And then there was ramen. For some unexplainable reason more shinobi fell prey to this delectable dish than any other. Perhaps it was the aroma of the broth, or the texture of the noodles, or the delightful way the warmth of the combination thereof raised one's spirits.

Or maybe it just had to do with how many calories a shinobi could put away from a single bowl of the stuff.

It was also a little known fact that Haruno Sakura had developed the same love of ramen as her boyfriend. And that their teammate Uchiha Sasuke got roped into liking the salty food almost as much. At least, if he would ever have admitted to it that is. When asked he would vehemently deny it and forswear the food for life.

You were of course guaranteed to find the dark haired boy sneaking his way into Ichiraku's within twenty four hours of such a declaration, unable to stay away from the glorious food.

After all, when you have a job where you could be killed at any moment, it is the little things in life that you treasure the most.

It is for this reason that the genin of Team 7 found them selves sitting anxiously and excitedly on three stools at Ichiraku's, awaiting the first bowls of their beloved food. Sakura was chatting animatedly with Ayame who had been curious about her new look while Naruto and Sasuke merely leant against the bar, ignoring the glares that were sent their way by various customers sticking their heads into the shop to order some ramen to go.

No one ever seemed to want to actually eat at the shop when Naruto was around. Go figure.

Finally, as they watched old man Ichiraku cook the delicious smelling ramen, Sasuke turned to face Naruto and spoke softly.

"So, I was right about my father. He interrogated Katsumi and I for a good five hours before finally releasing us to do what we wished. He seemed overly interested in you and how you defeated Haku. I, of course, had to politely and regretfully inform my father that seeing as I was unconscious at the time, that I had not seen a thing that had happened and could not corroborate my sister's observations." Sasuke smirked towards his teammate as Naruto looked thoughtfully at his clasped hands. "I did however mention how distraught Katsumi had been by the sight of my self and Sakura on the ground, seemingly dead. I believe I may have thrown at least some doubt on the veracity of her report on the events."

Naruto narrowed his eyes darkly.

"Thanks Sasuke. It means a lot to me that I actually have a friend like you who I can trust."

Sasuke chuckled.

"It's not like there is anyone else in this blasted village you can trust. Well, except for the Hokage and Asuma-sensei. And your mom. And Iruka I guess."

Naruto nodded his head, deep in thought. Multiple portions of his mind were reminding him of all the reasons he hated the people of Konoha, while other portions were reminding him of why he was so determined to become Hokage and protect the village. After a few minutes, as the first bowl of steaming hot ramen was placed before him, the portions urging for him to continue in his quest to become Hokage managed to win out over his doubts.

As the three genin dug heartily into the first course of their meal they all failed to notice a young dark haired girl hiding behind a nearby street lamp, watching them eat.

Uchiha Katsumi had chosen not to go home as her father and uncle were still upset over the reports that an Uchiha had gone missing during a mission. More worrisome was that the client had specifically asked for an Uchiha, worrying the clan elders that it may have been some sort of set up from the beginning. Thus here she was, following (Read: stalking) Namikaze Naruto.

She was still a little scared about what she had seen Naruto do in the Wave, but it wasn't enough to completely override her feelings for the Namikaze heir. After all, he was the most eligible bachelor in the village still, right? He was her best option for becoming the most powerful woman in the village, right?

Hey, Katsumi can lie to her self if she wants. She's an Uchiha, it's what they do. Live in denial until reality hits them hard in the face like a cold dead fish. This is usually a trout in the case of the Uchiha; a cold, dead, wet, smelly trout.

* * *

In a dark chamber somewhere in the small Rice country situated to the north of the Fire country a dark haired figure stood up from where it had collapsed on the floor. The male figure stood and stretched, reveling in the strength and youth of its new body. Across from it in the dark chamber lay the dead, decaying, and lifeless body of his previous host, inferior in all ways but the one that had mattered at the time.

"Orochimaru-sama." A tall young man with pale skin and pale hair entered the chamber and kneeled before the standing figure.

The figure turned to regard the young man with a calculating gaze for a few moments before speaking. As he spoke, the irises of his eyes turned red and three black tomoe began to spiral slowly around his pupils.

"Rise, Kimimoto, and gaze upon my glory. After years of trying, I have finally succeeded in capturing an Uchiha to use for my newest host body. Now nothing can stand in the way of my plans."

The pale young man stood and gazed upon his master, a look of adoration and devotion upon his face as Orochimaru began to laugh, his eerie laugh echoing through the open door and throughout the hallways of the subterranean complex.

* * *

**June 23****rd****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Team 7 had spent the past two months mostly doing training and the occasional D-Rank mission. As Asuma wanted them to improve their skills and recover fully from the experience of a mission going wrong he staunchly refused Sasuke's occasional requests for a more difficult mission, especially since neither Naruto nor Sakura seemed inclined to join in supporting his request. Those two seemed to be perfectly content training and spending time together and with their teammate in the safety of Konoha.

At least Naruto had admitted when asked that he wasn't requesting more difficult assignments because he wanted to give Sakura time to come to grips with everything. In fact, he had apparently been dispatching clones on various activities on a daily basis to improve his skills and techniques. It was this talk with Naruto that revealed to Asuma that Naruto had already learned about the special sort of chakra infusible metal that had been used in the making of his own trench knives. In fact, the blond boy had even spent most of his money from the Wave mission in order to have a pair of weapons custom made from the material.

He wouldn't tell Asuma what they were of course, only that he had gotten the idea after the Wave mission and his training with his snakes.

Sasuke on the other hand was for the most part content with improving his taijutsu working with Naruto and Asuma, as well as learning some Katon techniques from his sensei. He admitted easily to his team that he was being drilled in the use of the Sharingan at home as well but that he was purposefully holding him self back. When Asuma had asked why Sasuke had just smirked and quoted one of the tenets of shinobi life.

"Deception is a shinobi's lifeblood."

Asuma just shook his head. His team was going to cause him to go prematurely grey, he was sure of it.

On this particular sunny day Team 7 was working on team coordination exercises in their preferred training ground. Asuma would send out clones into the boulder field and then his team would work to disable the target as effectively as possible without killing them. He expended more chakra than was usually necessary, but he needed to ensure that these clones had enough stability to remain around when being punched and wrapped up.

Needless to say, while his team could certainly still use improvement, their teamwork and tactics had easily reached mid-chunin level.

It was as Asuma was thinking on this that he caught sight of a white bird flying up in the sky. His eyes narrowed as he recognized a summons of all the shinobi instructors in Konoha. Clapping his hands for attention Asuma dismissed his team and shunshined away, heading for the Hokage's tower.

With nothing better to do Team 7 began to walk through the village towards their usual lunch spot, all three silently thankful that Katsumi had ceased chasing after Naruto after the Wave mission. In fact, the only times they ever saw her were if they passed her on their way to the mission office or if they ran into her randomly around the village, and even then she just averted her gaze and hurried away. Not that Sakura was complaining, mind you. She was thankful the Uchiha bitch had ceased striving after her boyfriend.

Naruto and Sakura were snuggling against one another as usual, whispering quietly to one another little nothings that Sasuke generally ignored. It was better for his sanity that way. The Uchiha merely smirked and tucked his hands in his pockets, slouching just a little, wishing to god he wasn't aware of all the fan girls who were following them at a distance. At least they had started to give him some room after they found out that massive black snakes seemed to appear around him when they got to close. He had to remember to thank Lachesis again for the gift.

Sasuke's smirk vanished as they turned a corner and found a black clothed kabuki painted shinobi wearing a Sunagakure headband hoisting a small brown-haired kid into the air and glaring at him. Sasuke instantly recognized the child Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson and another relatively minor nuisance for Team 7. The kid viewed Naruto has both a big brother and a rival, so he was always trying to get a drop on him or his teammates.

A sudden chill in the air informed Sasuke that his blond haired partner had noticed the scene as well.

"Put him down now." Naruto growled as he let go of Sakura.

Naruto's mind absentmindedly noted the second Suna shinobi, a blond kunoichi wearing a tight fitting tan outfit, was eyeing him and Sasuke with a mixture of annoyance, surprise, and what looked like interest. He pushed those thoughts aside as he crouched and flexed his wrists. Inside his battle coat Lachesis slithered and wrapped around his right arm, ready to strike.

"This punk insulted me, and I'm going to show him what happens to those who disrespect me."

What happened next was so fast and so surprising that everyone involved would swear time must have stopped. One moment the black clothed Suna ninja was standing there smirking at the trio of younger Konoha genin, and the next he was flying down the street to slam into a tree over fifty feet away.

Konohamaru on the other hand was still being held in the air, a hissing black and gold snake wrapped securely around his waste as Namikaze Naruto looked up from his crouch to glare at the blond kunoichi.

"Chunin exams?" He practically growled out as Lachesis slowly lowered a near tears Konohamaru to the grown.

The surprised girl merely blinked and looked between the suddenly serious Naruto, a Sasuke who had drawn a pair of kunai and moved into an offensive stance as well, and her teammate who was dizzily trying to stand up after impacting the tree at such a high velocity. Slowly she nodded, noting that while Naruto's eyes never left her, that he was making no further threatening moves.

"Then I would advise you to behave respectfully while you are guests of our village. You are lucky I am in a good mood. I would normally have crippled someone for attacking my family." Naruto growled back.

Inside he was fighting to keep a hold on his emotions. If he slipped too much he would begin to channel the Kyuubi's powers and transform, and he especially didn't want to reveal that trump card to a possible enemy.

Temari noticed the way the brunette child her brother Kankuro had been harassing hid behind Naruto and the way the pink haired girl whose outfit seemed to match Naruto's had moved to his side. She almost looked possessive of the boy.

Temari blinked and side, holding her hands up as she shrugged.

"Sorry. I'll take my idiot brother and drag him back to the hotel."

She noticed that the three shinobi visibly relaxed as Naruto straightened back up and his eyes ceased to be narrowed.

As Temari walked over and grabbed her brother by his ear, don't ask me how she got a hold of it through his clothes, Sasuke found him self staring at her ass. Shaking him self out of it a moment later he turned back to Naruto and Sakura.

"Well, that was certainly the most exciting thing to happen all week."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the retreating blond while Naruto chuckled and then looked up into the top of a nearby tree.

"What do you think old friend?" He asked with dark humor in his eyes. "Was that interesting? Personally, your old comrades could come up with more interesting things even on their off days."

Sasuke spun and his eyes widened as he caught sight of the strange red-haired shinobi standing on an exposed branch of the tree, his arms crossed across his chest and a gourd on his back.

"You seem to know me. How?" Gaara asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

Naruto chuckled again.

"You'll find out someday, Shukaku. For now, let's just say that we share an acquaintance."

Gaara's eyes widened as Naruto named the beast that had been sealed within him.

_How does this Konoha shinobi know what is within me? And why is Mother clamoring for his blood?_

Naruto chuckled and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he was staring at Gaara with a piercing gaze over the tops of his sunglasses. Only Gaara could see his eyes from this angle, and the Suna shinobi's eyes widened in shock as the demon within him recognized what it saw. Naruto's eyes had turned red and slitted, just like a fox's. Just like THE fox's.

Gaara glared for a moment longer before vanishing in a sand shunshin. Naruto and his teammates remained still for another few moments before turning to face one another.

"Come on. We need to report this to someone right away." He said as he turned to walk towards the Hokage's tower. "Konohamaru, you run along home. It's not safe alone on the streets right now."

Naruto's younger brother and sometimes rival didn't question Naruto's advice. He took off running down the street as fast as he could.

"Naruto…who was that boy in the tree?" Sakura asked hesitantly, causing her boyfriend to pause and glance back over his shoulder.

"He was like me, Kyuubi could sense it. He carries one of the Bijuu, one Kyuubi knew quite well in ancient times." Naruto said coldly before returning his gaze forward. "Now come on. The presence of another jinchuriki for the exams has me worried."

Sasuke frowned. "And what makes you think it will matter to us? Father says that they haven't let a rookie team enter the exams in the last seven years."

Naruto smirked, still looking forward. "Trust me, it will matter."

Sasuke just shook his head and followed after as Sakura wrapped her arm around Naruto's again and the couple continued their walk as if the encounter with the Suna genin had not happened.

* * *

"Team 7 will take the exams, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his eye brow as his son stepped forward to nominate his team for the exams.

"Are you sure about this, Asuma? The exams are brutal, and they will be the first rookie team to be nominated for it in the past seven years if you do this." Iruka asked from his position next to the Hokage.

"I am certain, Iruka. My team is more than ready for it."

The two men shared an intense look for a moment before Iruka backed down. The younger man still cared deeply for these genin, who he had guided through their final year at the Academy, but he did admit that Asuma knew their present abilities better than he could claim to.

"Very well, Team 7 will be allowed to take the exams. Does anyone else wish to enter their teams?"

Slowly a fair number of the remaining Jounin instructors stepped forward, including the remaining three teaching rookie squads. As they reported to Iruka that they wished to enter their teams as well, Asuma and his father shared an intense look. After several long moments the Hokage closed his eyes and nodded his head in acceptance.

_I hope you are right about this Asuma, for their sakes…_

* * *

**June 24****th****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

When Asuma arrived to meet his team the next morning he was carrying a small stack of papers and smoking a cigarette absentmindedly. He arrived to find Sasuke leaning against his usual boulder and Naruto and Sakura sparring lightly on top of another set. From the number of clones ringing the rocks it was fairly clear that Naruto and Sakura were just letting off some steam, not seriously fighting. Asuma was also fairly certain that the clones existed to catch Sakura should she fall, not Naruto.

"Ok you three, gather around. I've got something to tell you."

Asuma waited patiently as Sasuke slowly walked over to join him, quickly followed by two sweating teenagers.

"What's up Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked with a familiar glint in his eyes.

Asuma groaned. He knew what that look meant.

"…Anko told you, didn't she?" He muttered.

Naruto's grin just widened.

"Of course she did, Asuma-sensei. She said I need to keep you on your toes."

Asuma groaned again while Sakura and Sasuke looked between the two in confusion.

"Um, Naruto? What's going on?" Sakura asked quietly.

Naruto chuckled, but Asuma beat him to the reply.

"Simply put, I've nominated you three for the Chunin Selection Exams as I feel you have the skills and capacity to do well in the exams. That has actually been part of the reason I haven't taken any C-Rank missions for you in the past two months, as I felt the time would be better spent honing your skills." Asuma smiled as the three genins' faces brightened with the realization that their sensei had just praised their skills.

"Thanks Asuma-sensei!" Three cheery voices cried loudly into the early sunlight as Asuma was suddenly engulfed in a trio of hugs and one black and gold snake hissing it's pleasure.

* * *

The next week passed relatively uneventfully. Naruto continued to work on his assassination abilities as well as his secret training with Lachesis. Sasuke worked even harder in his training with his family, forgoing hiding his abilities in order to push him self as hard as possible. Sakura doubled up her physical training to the point that she was literally collapsing each day at the end of practice. Naruto would carry her home each night, much to her pleasure. Because of the intensity of Naruto's training it was the only time she got to spend completely alone with the boy of her dreams.

On the final day before the exams were to be held Asuma cut their training short, saying that he didn't want them to overexert themselves and informing them of where to go for the exam the next day. Sakura, driven to try to keep up with her boyfriend and teammate in terms of skills, had to be forcibly removed from the training ground by Naruto. The sight of the slightly taller pink-haired kunoichi draped over Naruto's shoulder pounding on his back as he carried her home earned them numerous glares and strange looks from the villagers they passed.

Sakura's pounding only stopped when she realized that Naruto hadn't carried her back to her home like he had the past six nights in a row. Instead she found her self standing in front of the Namikaze estates as Naruto settled her back onto her feet. She looked at him in confusion.

"We're about to take part in some pretty challenging exams. We won't be able to relax and enjoy each other's company for a while." Naruto paused for a moment and swallowed before continuing. "I…I thought that we could spend the rest of the day together."

Sakura smiled and leant her head just slightly, he lips brushing lightly against Naruto's own as she leant her forehead against his.

"Thank you."

Naruto embraced Sakura in his arms and the two disappeared in a leaf shunshin as their lips met again. Neither noticed a sad look on the face of one Uchiha Katsumi who had been hiding behind a hedge across the street.

* * *

**July 1****st****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Team 7 stood before the entrance of the building the first part of the Chunin Selection Exams were being held in and watched as teams slowly entered the building. They saw teams from Konoha, Suna, and Iwa, and even teams from Kusa and Taki as well.

Sasuke stood in the center wearing a slightly modified version of his normal outfit. He had replaced his pale shorts with a pair of long dark pants and had wrapped his forearms similarly to Naruto's. To round out his new look he was wearing a pair of sunglasses identical to the thin one's Naruto had been wearing lately (they were in fact a spare pair that Naruto had given him) and had a small black and gold snake draped across his shoulders, the snake's body wrapping down around his arm until it reached the head that rested just above his wrist.

To Sasuke's right stood Naruto, resplendent in his black and orange outfit. Naruto's muscles were well defined under his mesh shirt and his eyes glittered darkly behind his sunglasses. Unlike usual, he had Lachesis displayed prominently across his shoulders, her body wrapped around both of his arms and her head resting just above his right wrist.

To Sasuke's right stood Sakura, her pink hair a bright contrast to the black outfit she now wore. She wore the same sort of sunglasses as her boyfriend and teammate, and she too had a black and gold snake draped across her shoulders.

"Well team, shall we?" Sasuke asked with a smirk as he glanced over the top of his glasses at a team from Kiri who were entering the building.

They had chosen the slight changes of their outfit with one purpose in mind; to impress and intimidate. The more dangerous they appeared, the more likely the other teams would tread cautiously around them. They had also decided to use the Uchiha reputation in this regard, especially since Sasuke was still several inches taller than Naruto. Thus for the duration of the early part of the test they were going to act, distracting their enemies with the obvious to hide the secret. By making Naruto and Sakura seem like lackeys of Sasuke's, they could draw attention to the Uchiha and away from the blond and the pink haired girl.

"Let's do this, Sasuke-taichou." Naruto said with a smirk, using the name the three of them had agreed upon for addressing Sasuke.

They needed to make their ruse a good one after all.

* * *

They entered the building and followed the meandering teams of shinobi through the halls and up the stairs. When they reached a large group of shinobi, including one of their rookie teams and a team close to their age that Naruto didn't recognize Sasuke smirked and shared a look with his teammates.

There was a pair of older Konoha genin who they didn't recognize blocking the door into the room they had been directed to, and they were refusing to let the other teams in. Naruto let his tongue flick out and taste the air before drawing it back in. behind his sunglasses his eyes widened and he spoke softly.

"It's just Izumo and Kotetsu. And given this is actually the second floor and not the third, there is no way this is really the room."

Sasuke and Sakura both nodded understanding. Quietly the trio walked past the commotion, taking care not to draw any attention to them selves. After all, any one who couldn't see past such a simple deception didn't deserve to make Chunin anyways.

Quietly they walked up the stairs hidden by a genjutsu at the end of the hall and approached the large doors at the top. When they reached them they found Asuma waiting for them, along with several other Konoha Jounin.

The brown haired man grinned as his students stopped before him, standing at an approximation of a military attention stance. He merely raised an eyebrow as Sasuke spoke. He vaguely remembered his students mentioning having a plan to distract any enemies during the exams.

"Team 7 reporting for duty, Asuma-sensei. Your orders?"

None of the Jounin present had had any direct contact with Asuma's team, and they all raised their eyebrows in surprise. They hadn't expected such organized precision from his team, particularly not since the demon vessel, who was known as an incorrigible prankster, was on it.

"Very good, Sasuke. You brought your exam papers I trust?" Asuma replied.

Sasuke nodded his head and presented a stack of rolled up papers from a pouch on his hip. Asuma took them from his student and confirmed that all three of his students had signed theirs.

"Very well. Carry on." Asuma said with a mock salute as he stepped to the side.

Catching on to his embellishment Sasuke sketched a salute back before stepping forward and stopping just before the doors. Sakura and Naruto, who had remained picture perfect examples of military precision standing silently behind Sasuke continued forward and reached out, pushing the doors open as the continued forward. They stopped once the doors were open and waited as Sasuke slowly stalked inside, his hands crossed behind his back. As soon as he was fully inside the room he stopped as Naruto and Sakura stepped forward to flank him once again, letting the doors close behind them.

As he vaguely heard the sound of the doors slamming shut Sasuke looked out over his sunglasses at the massive number of shinobi who filled the room and who were now glaring back at the new arrivals.

The Uchiha heir smirked, and the looks on his teammate's faces showed they were thinking the same thing he was.

_This is gonna be fun!_

_

* * *

  
_

AN: Ah, sorry for this taking so long. I've actually been working on it all week, but I spent the last couple of days with next to no inspiration or motivation. Then I finally got back to work on it after the little break and it just flowed. The majority of this chapter was written more or less in one sitting (I went to sleep as I had a headache and was tired, but I got back to work as soon as I woke up).

Now, I have a question for all of you readers. What do you think of Naruto's new coat and Sakura's new outfit? Hmm? They are important, there is meaning behind the symbolism, and frankly I just think they look badass. And would anyone care to take a guess as to what I'm going to do to Sasuke when the time finally comes for it to finally sink in how gay his usual blue and khaki outfit makes him look? (remember, Uchiha are known for living in denial).

On another note, I am currently working on organizing some mini soundtracks for some of my stories, basically just what I consider the opening and ending themes for the stories or for segments, as well as some insert songs or character themes. When a segments soundtrack is completed I will put it up in the author note of the next chapter to be released of that story. I will however give you a spoiler for later in Golden Viper. The opening theme for the second true arc of the story (some time after the Chunin exams) will be 3 Doors Down's When I'm Gone. I would give you the opening for the first true arc, but I haven't actually selected a track yet. And yes, I have actual sequences in my mind for the opening and endings of the series. I'm just not sure if you would be interested in me attempting to put it down in words so that you can attempt to see the imagery as well.

**Review Responses** - ^_^

Power of Insanity – Thank you. I felt it worked well, especially to both give him the name and emphasize his personality.

Moonfal – Hehe, Hakumei is one aspect I'm going to enjoy presenting and exploring just as I did with Lachesis. Three guesses as to just what she did to Sakura to distract her and Naruto from wondering about the necklace. As to the fight, I did my best. Haku unfortunately had to die, otherwise I might have rigged a way for him to have survived. The second omake came to me as I was finishing the first and reread the end of my own story, and it just made me laugh so loud I had to include it. And what did the people next door think when you explained why you were laughing so hard?

Til next time, Jaa ne watashi mo tomodachi.

-ZI

Kyuubiwolf23 – Heh, Katsumi is annoying and troublesome, but she has her part to play in everything. And hey, as long as your reason is thought out, well written, and has merit, then it can work. My problem, like I said, is with fics where Naruto getting girls is just gratuitousness rather than well thought out plot.

Tile next time, my friend…

ZI

zeynel – Yeah, and it was an unfortunate necessity to both emphasize Naruto's personality and willingness to kill, and just how deep his feelings for Sakura are.

I.E.T.S. – This Naruto is also somewhat darker than I originally envisioned when I started this fic as well. But, it just makes it even more awesome to write, as I get to make it far darker and more vicious than originally planned. And of course, I've developed new ideas to build off of the original core, and things just keep growing. Needless to say, this one is going to have some very shocking moments in it.

Paladin13 – Thank you. I'm pleased that at least one reviewer caught the reference in the first one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Sorry for no omake, but I just didn't have any that entered my mind while working on it.

Bio-Warrior-3000 – Yes, and there is more to it later, as it should be clear that his powers are slowly adapting and evolving. And trust me, Sasuke's treatment is just starting to get better. I guarantee you that Sasuke will get laid by a very hot kunoichi at some point in the story.

bandgsecurtiyaw – Thank you.

DustBunnyQueen - *snort* ok, now that was absolutely hilarious. I may have to remember that and make an omake next chapter. I'll reference you as giving me the idea if I do so. Anyways, thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Darth Hawk 32 – Thank you. And I'm guessing congratulations are in order for getting to the Chunin exams so efficiently as well? Hehe. This chapter topped out at a little over 10k words before I started the author's note and review responses.

Brooklyn Maxwell – Kakashi has a mixture of problems. First he's letting a little disappointment that he didn't receive Naruto as a student like he requested affect his behavior. Plus he reacted to Naruto's disobedience, but Naruto has grown vastly in confidence in the past year or so since he received the snake powers and started to speak to the Kyuubi. And part of it is just Kakashi being Kakashi.

Anihilation – Hehe, why thank you. I was writing the first omake when the idea hit, and I just couldn't let it go without writing it down. As to Katsumi, she is the only stalker, and her situation is a little different than Hinata's. Though maybe I'll write an omake just for the hell of it.

No, he doesn't have scales on his face. This is an example of his powers continuing to grow, and it is important. As to Sakura's powers, well, you'll find out later. What I will say is that Hakumei is a lesser version of the same sort of being as Kyuubi is, and her existence is very similar to Lachesis'. And remember, Lachesis is an artificial creation, meaning there are differences between her and a natural creature of that type. There is an entire back story for this stuff, involving an ancient civilization that harnessed the power of nature. And if you've noticed, something about sunset seems to be important there.

I can understand that. Some people have issues with pairings, some don't. I personally like reading a wide range of different pairings. As to my other stories though, Legacy of the Planet I may be willing to spoil the pairing in a private response, if you ask about it in a review of the story.

Thank you.

ZI

Kontraband – Why thank you. I appreciate the compliment.

Yes, Katsumi is annoying, but she has a role to play. I really really REALLY don't want to spoil certain plot twists later, but lets just say that, in the end, she does redeem her self. The necklace is intriguing, even to me. I decided on it in place of my original plan as I felt having a physical item that was a binding manifestation for the entity was the best option. And yes, I am sorry that Haku had to die. Like Phoenix Rising I had originally considered allowing him to survive, but in the end his death was extremely necessary to the plot and to emphasizing Naruto's differences from canon and his mind set. And yes, Asuma has a spine. He's always had a spine, even in canon. Remember, he left to become one of the Twelve Guardians for a bloody decade because of a row he had with his father, who was arguably the strongest shinobi to ever live.

Yes, poor Lachesis. There is more to her than meets the eye though, and you my readers have barely scratched the surface of the enigma that is Lachesis. Though, I have considered cameoing Lachesis or outright borrowing her for my Harry Potter story. I'll have to think on it.

Jaa ne.

ZI

dragonshaun9 – Oh yes, very nuts. And very much rofl at the Vegeta comment, particularly the twist you pulled on it. Hehe

**tgate3 - …I'm pretty certain I sent you a reply already, but I'm leaving a reply here in bold as well for a reason, for everyone to read. The simple fact is that I do not like it when a story is given a lesser content rating than what the author intends to have in it. It's one thing if your story changes over time to require a higher rating, as that is unavoidable, but when your story is heading towards mature content from the get go, one should not be misleading readers with a lower content rating.**

Getsuga Tensou – Thank you. Please keep reading. ^_^

Galidarion – Why thank you. I've been working very hard on getting the differences across, as well as sketching the development of some of his traits. *pokes* and you Mr. need to let me know what you are doing on the 15th. I'm gonna have a birthday party with some friends so I need you to make sure you are free that evening (and possibly the morning after). *turns and waves to all the readers* Hello people in reader land. Yes, I know the reviewer known as Galidarion personally. I went to school with him and he still lives relatively close to where I live at the moment. He's a good friend of mine, and a source when I need information on medieval weaponry (trust me, that knowledge will come in handy in one or more of my stories).


	10. Chapter 10: Scary and Snakes

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 10: Scary and Snakes

Sasuke smirked as the gathered shinobi all turned and glared at him. He could see the signs of frayed nerves on many of their faces. He also saw flickers of worry in the eyes of several of the gathered crowd as they took in the appearance of Sasuke and his team. Naruto's plan was already working flawlessly. Let the fools wonder what they could do. Despite their young ages, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all cut an intimidating appearance in their dark outfits and with black and gold snakes across their shoulders.

"Sasuke-kun!!" Sasuke mentally groaned as a blond-haired purple-clad girl rushed towards him.

Ino Yamanaka very nearly glomped Sasuke; the Uchiha heir was only saved from the ignominious assault by the sudden hissing of the snake upon his arm as it uncoiled it self, raising its head to glare at Ino.

"EEK!!" The blond girl cried out as she skidded to a stop, fear in her eyes.

Over a year training under Anko had left the blond girl quite terrified of snakes. Anko had a very…peculiar method of encouragement during training.

"I'd advise you to watch your actions, Ino-san, and behave appropriately. We are no longer students at the Academy, we are soldiers of Konoha and I must insist that you remember that." Sasuke spoke calmly and coldly, fighting to keep his real disgust at nearly being glomped by a rabid fan girl from appearing. It was necessary to their illusion that no one suspects it was faked.

As Ino sputtered about how she 'loved Sasuke though' Sasuke turned and walked towards where there was an open corner of the room and leant against the wall with his arms cross, looking out over the gathered Chunin-hopefuls. Naruto and Sakura took up flanking positions, Sakura crossing her arms under her chest and Naruto stroking the head of the large snake wrapped around his arms and body. Lachesis hissed in pleasure, startling a trio of Kusa shinobi standing nearby. Naruto ignored the worried looks on their faces and continued to stroke his partner, his gaze cast out through his sunglasses over all the gathered ninja.

They remained in this position as the final Konoha teams arrived, and watched as an older Konoha shinobi approached the other rookie genin and offered to give them advice on the exam. Naruto observed the silver-haired young man closely for a few moments before making a decision. Carefully, so as not to alert any of the other shinobi, Naruto began to channel chakra through the special heat sensitive pits hidden on his face and let his tongue flick out, tasting the air. He focused all of his attention on the young man, and barely managed to restrain a loud hiss as he scented something foul on the man.

Lachesis, sensing her partner's discomfort, tasted the air as well. It took the deadly snake mere moments to pinpoint what was disturbing Naruto. From nine separate points around the room there were varying degrees of a scent emanating, one that their instincts recognized and that immediately set them on edge. Moving slowly, so as to not draw attention, Naruto slid one hand onto Sasuke's arm and began to tap out a message in the simplistic contact-code they had developed.

Orochimaru-taint scented. Nine targets. Be on guard.

Sasuke showed no sign on reaction on his face, merely uncrossing his arms and carefully conveying the message to Sakura as well. The pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes behind her sunglasses, but otherwise showed no sign that anything was wrong.

Just then the trio spotted a trio of Otogakure shinobi moving towards the silver-haired genin's back, seemingly intent on causing him bodily harm. None of the members of Team 7 moved, although Naruto and Lachesis both scented and then hissed slightly. Whatever was going on, it didn't make sense. The three approaching all carried the Orochimaru-taint scent, but it was much fresher than the silver-haired genin's. Did that mean that the silver-haired genin was a traitor of Orochimaru's who had fled? Or just a deep-cover spy?

Naruto personally figured it was the latter. No way a traitor of Orochimaru would be allowed to just hide in Konoha, or stupid enough to do so without giving information to ANBU.

As they watched the three attacked the young man, the large bandaged man using a haymaker swing that the silver-haired man initially seemed to dodge, before collapsing and spitting up blood. Naruto's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

_He never even hit him?!_

_**He must be using some sort of energy to strike at a distance. Given there was no heat flare from a chakra release, I'm willing to bet that it likely utilized sound in some manner.**_

Naruto nodded slightly, acknowledging receipt of Kyuubi's theory.

Their fellow Konoha rookies and the three Otogakure shinobi appeared to be about to go to blows when there was a massive flare of smoke around the edge of the room that resolved itself into a very intimidating looking man who Naruto recognized as Morino Ibiki, the head of the Torture and Interrogation division, and about twenty Chunin exam proctors. After warning that any more fighting would result in the immediate ejection of the teams involved from the exams the intimidating man indicated for everyone to take a number and find their seat.

Ten minutes later everyone was seated and several of the Chunin proctors were passing out the exam forms as Ibiki explained the rules. Naruto listened with one ear while the rest of his attention was focused on the room around him, seeking to analyze any and all possible threats. He was seated between one of his old classmates, Hyuuga Hinata, and a very nervous looking Iwa-nin who kept shooting worried glances at the large snake that continued to slowly slither around Naruto's body. Lachesis had gotten antsy at so many sources of taint-scent in the room, so Naruto had allowed her to slowly begin sliding around his body as she searched to identify all nine sources.

The fact that the moving snake unnerved those near him was a bonus.

"The exam will last one hour. BEGIN!!" Ibiki's voice rang out across the room.

Naruto grinned and flipped over his paper, scanning the questions quickly. He would be the first to admit that book smarts weren't always his thing, but when push came to shove he acquitted him self admirably. He was just an active person, and much more suited to physical knowledge. Several of the questions on the page before him he didn't have the first clue how to solve, so he just shrugged and indicated with a small gesture of his fingers for Lachesis to see which question's he would need her to look out for the answers for.

The others he set to work answering immediately. In next to no time at all he had half the questions completed, and Lachesis was hissing to indicate that she had answers for him. Grinning faintly Naruto leant back with his hands resting behind his head and closed his eyes. The position also moved Lachesis so that her head was right next to his ear, and she quietly began relaying the answers to him. Naruto's smile deepened when Lachesis informed him that she had been able to see Sakura's paper form where she was.

Meanwhile, Naruto's two teammates were going about the exam in different ways. Sakura was simply answering all the questions, her penchant for bookwork and knowledge becoming a major aid here. Sasuke on the other hand, like Naruto, had always been more focused on the active aspects of being a shinobi, not the book work. So he, again like Naruto, needed to cheat just a little to complete his exam. Of course, in his case, he had a major advantage. Sasuke just used his Sharingan from the get go to copy Sakura's movements, trusting that his pink-haired teammate would know all the answers.

Fifty minutes into the exam Ibiki told everyone to put their pencils down and began to speak again. Most of the shinobi in the room had their attention glued to the man, although again Naruto split his attention between focusing on the man before him and searching for threats in the room. He had narrowed down two of the unknown scents to a pair of Konoha genin who were most likely the silver-haired man's teammates, as well as narrowing down what appeared to be the most intense source of the smell to a Kusa-nin. He still couldn't track down the other two sources, but he was willing to bet dollars to yen it was the teammates of the strange Kusa-nin.

Naruto absentmindedly noted when the black-clad Suna-nin returned from using the restroom and Ibiki called him out on having used a Henge on a puppet to secretly get the answers to the exam, as well as when the blond Suna-kunoichi shouted out in confusion when Ibiki mentioned that they would have a choice of whether to take the final question on the exam or not. Naruto's ears perked up and he turned his attention fully to Ibiki as the man became serious and explained that those who answer the tenth question incorrectly would never be allowed to make Chunin.

Naruto's mind instantly began to race. Was this how the exams were always run? No, because even if it was enforced for the hosting village's shinobi, no way the other villages would abide by such a rule. Had the council gotten this rule put in place because Naruto was taking the exam? No, because the exam was a cross-village event the Konoha council had no say on its content. So…

_It must be a trick question, just like this entire exam. I caught at least twenty people cheating, beyond those expelled from the exam for being caught, so this exam obviously has an ulterior motive. He must be testing our resolve and dedication._

Naruto grinned and through a subtle set of hand signs signaled for both Sakura and Sasuke to stay put. His teammates, who were both worried, trusted Naruto's judgment and remained calmly staring forward with their hands clasped before them.

Slowly teams bowed out one by one as various shinobi wimped out and left the room depressed. Finally, when it was clear that no other teams were going to leave, Ibiki stepped forward once again and began to speak.

"To the 48 who remain…I congratulate you on passing the first test!!!" Ibiki said loudly.

The tall man paused and let his announcement sink in for a moment. Naruto snorted and leant back in his seat, closing his eyes and meditating.

_The bastard was playing us all along. Well played, Ibiki. Well played indeed._

_**Heh, the bastard performed a trick worthy of a kitsune. You could learn a thing or two from him, Kit.**_

_Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Kyuubi. I'm gonna take a nap now. Wake me if he says anything interesting._

Naruto disappeared into his center and began to channel his mental energies, reinforcing his connection with Nature and his partner Lachesis. He was only peripherally aware as various questions were shot at Ibiki, and of the gasps from around the room as Ibiki removed his head wrap to reveal his scarred head. He listened as the man explained the true purpose behind the first exam, and behind the tenth question. He was about to tune everything out completely when he felt a presence approaching at an extremely rapid pace; a very familiar presence.

There was a loud crash and a black figure barreled through the shattered window into the room just in front of Ibiki. Four kunai shot out and pulled the black cloth open into a large banner, revealing a woman grinning sadistically with her hands on her hips.

Six of the gathered genin all groaned and dropped their heads into their hands in perfect synchronization.

Emblazoned on the banner was the following: Mitarashi Anko, Beautiful, Badass, and Single.

Anko stood before the remaining genin resplendent in a black mesh bodysuit, black mini-skirt, and black trench coat. Even though no one could see the back of the coat, Naruto and the others who groaned knew that it displayed the Namikaze family crest on the back, surrounded by a pair of gold and black snakes.

As Anko began to introduce her self Naruto continued to groan and mutter to him self.

"No wonder she was so excited about this exam. She gets to torture ALL of us for a change."

Just because Naruto had spent the past seven years with Anko as his mother didn't mean that he lacked a healthy fear of the snake Jounin.

* * *

**July 2****nd****, Thirteen Years After the Day of the Kyuubi…**

Early the next morning the members of Team 7 stood at one end of the field that the second part of the Chunin exam was to begin from and shivered slightly in the bracing morning breeze. Well, Sakura and Sasuke shivered. Naruto on the other hand practically glowed with internal heat while the three snakes that would normally be draped across their bodies curled inside their clothes for warmth. No sense in the snakes being used to intimidate their competition if they were going to be too cold to be of any use in the forest.

The trio was lounging in the sunny end of the field, watching as the proctors of the exam set up a pair of booths with a curtain that could be slid over to obscure the tables inside the booths. They weren't the only team who had arrived early either. They saw a team from Kirigakure eyeing them suspiciously from another corner of the field, and a team of blond Kusa genin stood in another corner with their arms spread and their faces turned towards the sun. Naruto could almost swear that they were absorbing energy from the rising sun, something that he had to admit was entirely possible given his understanding of the workings of Nature.

The trio remained quiet in their corner of the field as the sun continued to rise, watching with narrowed eyes as the remaining thirteen teams slowly filed in. They all took note of Teams 10 and 8 gathering near the middle of the field and the way Ino kept looking nervously over her shoulder as if she expected Anko to appear at any moment, a possibility that Naruto had to silently admit was more than likely. They also noted as Uchiha Katsumi dragged her teammates over to join the other rookies. All three let out a breath they hadn't been aware they had been holding. Katsumi had seemingly given up her pursuit of Naruto in recent months, but the manipulative Uchiha heir-apparent still set them on edge, the irony of this being that, unbeknownst to them, Katsumi found their strange military-strict behavior even creepier.

Finally all of the teams had arrived and were milling about. Here and there teams were interacting with friendlies from their own village, or eying opponents from foreign villages with distrust. Naruto was keeping a surreptitious eye on the nine he had pegged as bearing Orochimaru-taint and was calculating possible methods of disabling them all when a swirl of wind and leaves announced the arrival of the Head Examiner for the Second Test, and his mother, Mitarashi Anko.

"Welcome to the stage for the Second Test, maggots. Practice Area 44, known as the "Forest of Death"." Anko spoke loudly and with purpose, not quite successfully concealing the sadistic grin that was attempting to plaster itself on her face. "You'll soon find out why it's called the "Forest of Death".

Everything was silent in the clearing before Naruto heard the brash Kiba shout out loudly, accompanied by a supportive bark from his companion Akamaru.

"You think that's going to scare me?!"

Anko chuckled and Naruto resisted the urge to rub his forehead.

"Please mom…not now…" He muttered quietly to him self.

Before anyone could blink a kunai had shot through the air and sliced Kiba's cheek. A second later Anko was standing behind the bewildered boy and licking the line of dripping blood off his cheek. She was about to make a typically Anko remark when she sensed a presence behind her and drew a kunai, preparing to defend her self. Across the field Naruto was tensed and ready to leap into action.

Standing behind Anko was the creepy Kusa-genin who Naruto had sensed the strongest Orochimaru-tain from. The man was now officially even creepier as his tongue was extended a full two feet out of his mouth and had the kunai that Anko had thrown gripped in it.

"Here's…your kunai…" He said in a creepy voice.

"Why thank you." Anko replied as she took the proferred kunai and stepped back from the pair. "But you know, it isn't wise to sneak up behind me if you want to live."

The creepy Kusa-genin chuckled as he turned away. "I just get excited when I see red blood…plus you cut my precious hair, I couldn't help it…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed and silently he motioned for Lachesis to focus on the creep as well. No one noticed Naruto's eyes turning slitted and green behind his sunglasses as he channeled his chakra silently.

It took all his willpower not to let out a momentous 'Fuck!' at what his heat-vision revealed there. Lachesis was equally not amused.

Silently Naruto used a pair of hand signs to warn his teammates of what he was about to do. Nodding in understanding the two stepped forward and shielded Naruto from view as he stepped behind his taller teammates. As soon as he was out of sight of everyone on the field Naruto performed a small cross-shaped seal. There was a near imperceptible puff of smoke and for a brief moment there were two Naruto's standing behind his teammates. Without any preamble the second Naruto performed a hand seal and vanished in another small puff of smoke, taking on the form of a small black and gold snake. Silently the bunshin slithered off into the woods around the field to surreptitiously make its way to the examiners tent.

As Naruto stepped back around his teammates he answered their questioning looks with a single finger brought to his lips.

"I'll explain later. Just be on guard."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded as Naruto took his spot flanking the Uchiha.

Ten minutes later, after Anko had explained the rules of the second exam and the geography of the "Forest of Death" to the gathered teams, Naruto and Sakura flanked Sasuke with military precision as they entered the covered booth to turn in their forms in exchange for one of the scrolls. As Sasuke received the Heaven scroll Naruto smirked as he realized that once his hidden snake clone was dispelled after delivering its message it would serve the added benefit of being able to inform him of which teams had received which scrolls. It would save them time they could spend getting to the tower if they could avoid teams that also carried the Heaven scroll.

As they exited the booth and were escorted towards their gate by one of the Chunin proctors Naruto caught his mother's eye and shared a long look with her. After several moments of silence Anko nodded and her sadistic grin returned to her face.

Thirty minutes later, all of the teams having been dispersed to their gates and the exam having begun thanks to her announcement, Mitarashi Anko ducked inside the examiner's booth and let out a soft whistle. As if it had been waiting for it, which it had in fact been doing, a small black and gold snake slithered out of the canopy and dropped onto Anko's waiting arm.

"Naruto thinks that Orochimaru has infiltrated agents into the exam, including one with suspiciously snake-like abilities. Lachesis plans to scatter bunshin throughout the forest to keep track of these agents. Number of identified agents is nine. The Otogakure team, the Konoha team with the silver-haired medic-nin named Kabuto, and the Suna team with the creepy guy with the long tongue. Advice ANBU to be on the lookout for other agents."

Anko nodded, and the snake dispelled itself. Mitarashi Anko straightened and then took a deep breath before calling one of the hidden ANBU to her side.

"I have a report that the S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru may have infiltrated agents into this exam. Alert the ANBU forces and begin a sweep of the village and the surrounding forest. I also want at least six ANBU squads on hand around the forest ready to enter at the first sign of trouble."

The silent ANBU nodded before vanishing in a leaf shunshin. All around the field hidden ANBU members followed his lead and took off, heading towards various ANBU patrols to pass on the orders.

Silently, Anko prayed that her little gaki would be all right.

* * *

Anko needn't have bothered, as less than an hour into the forest her 'little gaki' and his teammates were standing in a small clearing next to a stream. Outwardly they looked like they were merely looking at a map and trying to decide which direction to head in search of a team. Inwardly they were all laughing at the stupidity of the Amegakure nin who was hiding in the trees above them. Unless they had swapped the scroll around since the booth Naruto knew full well that he was carrying an Earth scroll.

"Ok, so the tower is this direction, but if we head straight there we are unlikely to encounter many other teams. It would be better if we headed towards it in a spiral, thus making it more likely that we will encounter our opponents." Sasuke was speaking in a monotone, Sakura and Naruto nodding in agreement.

In the trees above the masked Ame-genin was preparing to form some Mizu-bunshins and then use the cover of a Kirigakure no jutsu to drop in on his opponents. Silently the bunshins crept down the trees, until the three unsuspecting children were surrounded. He grinned behind his mask as the three failed to notice the mist forming as he silently performed Kirigakure no Jutsu.

Silently the bunshins approached until they were in position. As the three genin looked up in confusion as they finally noticed the mist the bunshins struck with lethal efficiency. Too bad for them their targets went up in puffs of smoke the moment their attacks struck.

High in the tree still the Ame-genin's eyes widened in surprise at how effortlessly he had been tricked into what must have been a trap all along.

"Thanksss for the cover." An eerie voice hissed behind his ear just before he felt the sharp pain of a kunai severing his spinal column just below his skull.

The Ame-genin fell limply from the tree only to be caught a few feet below by Sasuke, who carried him safely to the ground. All of his Mizu-bunshin had collapsed the moment his chakra coils and nerves had been cut, destroying his control over them. The Ame-genin stared up in fear as the mists began to clear and the cold eyes of his captors glared down at him. As the blond one stepped forward and crouched over his prone body his eyes widened in fear at what they beheld.

Over the tops of Naruto's black sunglasses the man could see his eyes, the eyes of a demon. Naruto's eyes were slitted and green, with flames seeming to flicker along the edges.

"Now, you're going to tell us everything you know about your teammates."

The Ame-nin managed to get out one question in spite of his fear.

"And what if I don't?"

Naruto only chuckled and leant back up.

"Oh, I don't think you understand. This isn't a matter of whether or not you are willing." He said as he stepped aside, allowing Sasuke to approach and crouch before the prone Ame-nin, his Sharingan eyes whirling and his hands blurring through a series of hand seals. "I'm telling you that you _will_ tell us everything that you know about your teammates."

As Sasuke finished his hand seals and the genjutsu enfolded the poor Ame-genin the poor man felt an odd-double prick on his arm. Looking down to see what had caused it just before the genjutsu claimed him, the man saw a black and gold snake with its fangs embedded in his arm. He tried to scream, but found that he no longer had a voice to scream with.

* * *

Ten minutes later the members of Team 7 were dusting them selves off and tucking an Earth scroll into their packs. On the ground behind them lay the dead and dissolving body of the Ame-genin. The man hadn't lasted long enough to tell them everything, but they had been able to discover that one of his teammates was a genjutsu specialist, and that another specialized in using acid-based techniques.

Unfortunately, this being the first opportunity that Naruto had had to test the new venom Lachesis had developed, he had underestimated the lethality and the speed at which the compound would kill the target. He would not make the mistake of using too much the next time, particularly since the portion of the venom that acted like a psychotropic drug and forced the target to answer any question put to them was far more efficacious than anyone could have predicted.

Now, if he and Lachesis could just isolate that one compound from the rest, he would have the perfect interrogation tool. Combined with Sasuke's Makyou Akumu Bun'ya, it would be near unbeatable.

Leaving the body of the Ame-nin to dissolve under the effects of the venom Team 7 leapt off into the forest, making a beeline for the tower. Periodically Naruto would grunt and use hand signals to pass along information to his teammates as the various snake clones he had scattered around the forest were dispelled.

Some had merely run afoul of native wildlife, bringing with them warnings of colonies of forest leeches and packs of wild tigers. Others had gotten too close to the shinobi they were tracking and had been detected. Naruto had grinned as one brought him memories of the team of blond Kusa-genin cursing up a storm when they had realized that the snake was following him. It pleased him to no end to see these older genin teams had failed to see "underneath the underneath" and see through his team's ploy. Given the way the one girl had shied away from the snake rather than attacking it the trio would likely be easy prey if they encountered them along the way.

Then there were the memories of the one that had died after watching the Suna team utterly slaughter a team from Amegakure. It didn't bring Naruto any information on either of Gaara's teammates, but it had revealed clearly how the red-haired vessel of Shukaku was able to manipulate sand to fight, and his desire for blood. Despite even his own sadistic side it caused Naruto to shudder a little. This boy, who could very well represent what he might have become had Anko not taken him in and shown him love, unnerved him. Naruto made a mental note not to underestimate Gaara.

_Maybe I'll have a chance to have a talk with him. If he's anything like me, then all he needs is to be shown love and friendship and he'll even out._

_**From his behavior it might be more serious than that. We might need to learn something about sealing jutsus from the old man.**_

Naruto frowned.

_**You may be right, Kyuubi, you may indeed.**_

A faint hiss in the back of his mind informed him that Lachesis agreed with Kyuubi's assessment.

Silently the trio moved on, unaware that a freight train of trouble was heading straight for them.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest two Kusa-nin lay dying, having underestimated their respective targets. One had been skewered like a shish-ka-bob by TenTen after Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji had utterly pummeled him into the dirt. The other had become caught in a powerful genjutsu courtesy of Uchiha Kazumi, leaving him vulnerable to a disabling blow from Hyuuga Hinata. A quick Gatsuuga later and the man wouldn't be getting up any time soon. Unfortunately, neither had a scroll, so the genin tied them up and left them in traps that would kill them if they tried to escape.

The third member of the team however was busy hunting down a mysterious boy who intrigued him to no end. His spies had reported that the child was teamed with an Uchiha, and had been adopted by his old apprentice Anko. The fact that the boy reputedly used snakes to fight made him even more interesting. Orochimaru had decided that he would investigate this child and test him. If he disappointed him, he would die a horrible death in the middle of the forest. If he impressed him, then Orochimaru would leave his mark on the boy, corrupting his mind until the child sought him out for power.

He found his targets approximately two hours into the exam as they made their way on a relatively direct route towards the tower. He was about to manipulate a way to knock one of the trio away when they stopped for a quick break. He paused to figure out what they were up to, but suddenly a trio of long black snakes struck up from the forest below, their fangs missing him by mere millimeters. Orochimaru spun and the three bunshins were dispelled.

Orochimaru's eyes opened wide.

_The kid is using bunshins in the shape of snakes? Kukukuku, this is impressive already._

"Come on out, you serpent bastard." Naruto's voice broke through his reverie. "I can smell _his_ taint on you."

Orochimaru's eyes widened again for the second time in as many minutes. This brat could smell his touch on people? Suddenly the usefulness of keeping the brat alive was becoming less evident to the snake Sannin.

When Orochimaru didn't immediately appear Naruto frowned and then narrowed his eyes. Behind his sunglasses they took on a slitted-green appearance as he scanned the forest. Within moments he found three giant snakes hiding just at the edge of his perception and three identical humanoid figures. No, not identical. Two of them were several degrees colder than the first. Naruto grinned and turned to face one of the two that were obviously bunshins of some sort.

"There you are." Naruto said as he pointed.

Surprising even Orochimaru a large black and gold snake leapt forth from Naruto's sleeve with such force that it speared between the branches of the trees and bit into the bunshin before it could react. The bunshin held its solidity for a few seconds before dissolving into a pile of mud.

Naruto chuckled.

"Or rather, there is one of your bunshins. Only two of you left, even odds I get the right one on the first try." Naruto said with a confidence he wasn't feeling. The more he smelt the strange Kusa-genin, the more his suspicions mounted. The taint-scent was just too strong for this to be a simple spy.

"Kukukuku, quite impressive ability boy, to be able to pinpoint all of my bunshins without possessing an advanced bloodline." Orochimaru said as he revealed him self. Or rather, as his bunshin revealed itself. Naruto had calculated things specifically to trick the strange shinobi into believing that he couldn't tell the difference between his bunshins and the real thing.

Naruto cocked his head slightly and mock grinned, all the while signaling for his teammates to prepare for an attack.

"Hardly. His taint on you his just too strong for you to possibly hide it from me." He replied.

"Kukukuku, and just who's taint is it that you smell on me, little boy?" Orochimaru asked as he approached the trio, preparing to unleash his killing intent to disable them.

Naruto chuckled.

"Orochimaru of the Sannin." Naruto opened his eyes and narrowed them further. "But it's not simply his taint that I smell, is it?"

Naruto chuckled again as he stood upright, bringing his hands together in a familiar cross-shaped seal in front of him.

"No, it's much more than that, isn't it? OROCHIMARU!!!" The snake sannin dodged to the side just in time to dodge the massive snake that dropped out of the trees above, shattering the branch he had been on. The snake swung its head around and struck repeatedly at the snake sannin.

Naruto frowned as he watched. The bastard was better than this, and he knew it.

"Damn." He muttered quietly to his friends and teammates. "It really is the bastard, in the flesh. He's just playing with us guys. We don't stand a chance unless we get out of here."

Naruto watched the bunshin's path and with a quick hand signal directed Sasuke to utilize a fire attack to provide cover for the swap out. As he was preparing to exhale Naruto performed another hand seal and the two snakes draped across his teammate's shoulders slithered off and vanished in puffs of smoke, replaced by larger versions of them selves.

Sasuke's attack had successfully caught the bunshin off guard, but as they watched the figure sloughed off its skin, revealing a pale man with long oily skin and slitted-green eyes.

"Kukukuku, you are more impressive than I expected."

"Quit with the games, old man." Naruto shouted back, emphasizing the old part. "I know that's just another bunshin. Why don't you bring your ass out of hiding and finish this. Either that or leave us the fuck alone."

Orochimaru's eyes again widened with the realization that the kid could tell the difference between him and his bunshins. But they were perfect, there should have been no way to tell them apart. Almost as if he could read the old bastard's mind Naruto spoke up again.

"Your bunshins aren't quite as perfect as you like to think. Now either make your move or let us continue on. I'm getting impatient being kept waiting here." Naruto spoke with more confidence and arrogance than he really felt, but he was dealing with a superior opponent, and their only real hope was to earn some modicum of respect from the bastard, and Naruto knew from his lessons with Anko that Orochimaru's major flaw was that he would often let opponents live when they amused him.

"Kukukuku, very well then. You have impressed me, boy, much more than I expected. Originally I was simply going to kill you, but I have a much better thought in mind." The real Orochimaru said as he appeared behind the three tense genin.

Before any of them could react Orochimaru performed a series of hand seals and suddenly his neck extended until it was abnormally long, reaching out and biting Naruto on his neck. The surprise was turned around on Orochimaru when a black and gold snake struck out of Naruto's coat and bit the bastard on the neck as he was about to retreat. Orochimaru's neck retracted and he rubbed the spot where the bite had been.

"Hmmm, very sneaky, brat, but ultimately pointless. I am immune to all forms of snake venom. You on the other hand will one day seek me out for power. That is, if you survive my little gift."

Naruto's vision was beginning to blur as a fiery pain spread from his neck, but he retained consciousness to see Orochimaru's face suddenly pale. Naruto smirked to him self as the arrogant Sannin suddenly slipped from the branch onto the back of a snake, shuddering as the snake hurried to get him away.

And then all was black.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke found a small cavern at the base of one of the nearby trees and got Naruto to it safely. Their teammate and friend was burning up, so while Sakura tended to him, using was medical knowledge she had, Sasuke worked with Lachesis and some of her snake bunshins to set up traps surrounding the clearing. They would at the very least provide warning of any approaching enemies.

The trio of friend, girlfriend, and partner took turns watching over the boy during the night, so that they were all relatively rested when a small squirrel nearly set off one of the traps early the next morning. Sakura barely stopped it by tossing a kunai in front of it, but she and Sasuke were both so much on edge that neither noticed the exploding tag strapped to its back as it ran away. When a kunai flew out of the forest and triggered the trap anyways a moment later Sasuke and Sakura were both fully alert, both wishing that Naruto had regained consciousness for different reasons.

* * *

It was a long time before Naruto knew anything again. When he came to it was to find him self fully within the confines of his own mind. He sat upon his usual rock, the one thing about the jungle that was immutable, imperturbable, and as he sat up he became aware of his surroundings. He was not pleased.

Filling the clearing around him were nearly a thousand copies of Orochimaru, each one futilely throwing them selves at a dome of glowing golden energy that surrounded him. As his awareness became clearer he took note of the four furry red pillars that seemed to be surrounding him and a dull growling noise that seemed to permeate the air above him. Looking up Naruto beheld the crouched figure of the Kyuubi standing above him, growling and lashing out periodically, destroying an Orochimaru here with a swipe of its paw, another there with a smash of his tail.

As Naruto became fully aware of his surroundings he noted a hissing undertone to the growl, and looking down he found Lachesis circling the rock, striking out periodically to destroy various copies of Orochimaru. Naruto stood and stretched.

"So just what in Kami's name is going on?" He asked as he finished his stretches, causing both Lachesis and Kyuubi to turn their heads to look at him.

"That bite that Orochimaru gave you was some sort of biologically based seal. It was apparently intended to not only take corrupt your mind, but to also take control of your chakra. I personally have no desire for my vessel to be under the influence of anyone but myself so I have been assisting your snake in fighting them off." Kyuubi chuckled. "Not that she needed it. That serpent of yours had already consumed most of the representations of Orochimaru by the time I managed to fight my way through them to you. Now all we have to do is destroy the remaining ones and burn that seal off. I've been using my chakra to fight it, but it will take an intense focus of will by you to destroy it for good."

Naruto looked out over the see of identical faces and grinned.

"So basically, I need to bash face and take some names?" He said as he cracked his knuckles. He could hear the Kyuubi groan above him.

"In a word, yes."

Naruto's grin widened.

"Then let's do this thing."

The jungle within Naruto's mind was suddenly alight with blue flames as the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune drew upon his own inner strength to burn away the corrupting presence of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Heaven.

* * *

Back in the real world the fight between Team 7 with the unexpected aid of Rock Lee and the Otogakure ninja who had been sent to kill Naruto was suddenly paused as Naruto's body became surrounded by a flare of black chakra which was quickly subsumed by an even greater flare, this time of spiraling blue and red chakra.

The eyes of both the Otogakure shinobi and Rock Lee widened at this sudden change of events. Sasuke and Sakura however both muttered the same quiet word as Naruto rose to his feet, his eyes closed and chakra roiling around him.

"Shit."

"Hah, like that light show is going to scare us. I'll blow you out of existence!" Zaku cried as he raised his arms so that he could attack Sakura and Naruto beyond her using the air cannons in his arms.

The Otogakure shinobi never got the chance to attack as Naruto suddenly launched his arms forward, a pair of metal claws attached to chains shot out past Zaku's head and embedded them selves in the tree behind him. They were immediately followed by Naruto, who buried his feet into Zaku and slammed the Otogakure shinobi into the tree.

"**You were attacking my mate. That cannot be allowed.**" Naruto's growling voice echoed around the clearing with an eerie undertone to it. As most of those gathered had never heard Naruto in this state the only people unaffected by it were Sasuke and Sakura.

"**Now die, servant of Orochimaru, die and burn for your sins**."

Rock Lee and the remaining two Otogakure ninja stared on in horror as Naruto opened his mouth impossibly wide, two gleaming slender fangs descending from the roof of his mouth before he bit into Zaku's neck. As Naruto tossed the convulsing body of Zaku to the ground and turned to face the remaining to Otogakure shinobi he opened his eyes, eyes that burned red with fire and were slitted like a fox's, and gazed with hatred at his enemies and love and adoration at his mate.

Sakura swallowed and felt a strange sense of knowing growing deep within her soul.

* * *

"Brother! Brother, it's me!! Hakumei!! I'm here Brother!!!"

Within her self-made prison Hakumei struggled to free her self, but the connection was not quite strong enough. Her host had not fully accepted the Twilight into her self, and Hakumei's own energies were still not sufficient to manifest on her own. She would need her summoner's help in order to do so for some time to come, even after the link was completed.

"Brother, I'm here!!"

Hakumei continued to rail at the darkness as she attempted to break free to see her brother again. Her one comfort was that he kept appearing around her partner.

* * *

Naruto looked between Kin and Dosu with hatred in his eyes.

"**Tell me, scum of Orochimaru!! Why should I let you live?!!?!?**"

Dosu blanched at the waves of killing intent that came rolling off of Naruto, fighting to keep the fear from killing him. Kin's eyes widened as well.

"Fuck this, I didn't sign up with Orochimaru to get killed by a psycho genin."

Kin dropped her weapons in what she hoped was a clear sign that she was ending hostilities and turned to try to escape.

"**And where in the nine hells do you think you're going?**"

Kin nearly shrieked as she suddenly found her self face to face with the monster that Naruto had become. The shorter blond boy had her arms in a vice-like grip as he stared deep into her eyes.

"Away from this shitstorm. If Orochimaru wants you dead he can do it him self. I'm going to go some where far away and forget I ever even heard of Konoha."

Naruto chuckled and released one of her arms, waving a finger back and forth in front of her face.

"**Tut tut, the only way you are leaving this clearing alive is as my prisoner or my servant. Tell me, why should I leave you alive period, much less as anything other than a prisoner?**"

Kin blinked in confusion before what Naruto had said finally sank in. It had been hidden in his tirade, but she was sure he had offered her a chance to live and enter his service.

Kin snorted.

"If getting out of here alive means serving someone like you, I guess I could live with that. Better than being killed by Orochimaru for failing my mission."

Naruto's answering smile looked an awfully lot like a predatory sneer to Kin as he released her hand and backed away.

"**Then prove where your loyalties now lie.**" Naruto said as he stepped back and motioned towards the shocked Konoha genin and Dosu.

Without waiting for further orders Kin moved, striking before her teammate even had a chance to realize that he had been betrayed.

"Sorry Dosu, but I never really liked you or that bastard Zaku. I only served Orochimaru because it was better than the life I had before, and I have a chance to get out. Even if my new boss is crazy scary that hopefully means that I'll survive longer."

With out any further words Kin slit Dosu's throat, letting the heavier shinobi drop to the ground with a thud, wiping her kunai off and sliding it back into the pouch at her hip. Looking up she found Sasuke and Sakura eyeing her warily, while Rock Lee was staring at the approaching figure of Naruto who was still surrounded by an aura of spiraling red and blue chakra.

As Naruto came to a stop and crossed his arms the chakra began to die down, collapsing like a fountain that has had the water turned off. This did not removed the intimidating aura Naruto was putting out, just the eerie effects of the chakra. Naruto turned to face Kin and held out his arm, a long black and gold snake sliding forth from under his coat. Nodding in understanding Kin stepped forward and fought off her own fear as the snake slide from Naruto's arm to her own, sliding along her body and coiling around her torso. Naruto nodded in approval before turning back to his friends and teammates.

"Rock Lee, I am grateful that you stepped in to assist my teammates. I am in your debt." Naruto said, bowing slightly.

Rock Lee kept looking from his blond-haired friend and the dead bodies of the two Otogakure shinobi for a few moments before taking a deep breath to compose him self. When at last he spoke the illusion of a miniature version of Maito Gai was complete in every detail.

"That was not very youthful of you my friend, not very youthful at all."

Sakura and Sasuke, who had yet to meet the strange Jounin who taught Lee, blinked in confusion while Naruto just chuckled.

"Lee, that's what I like about you. You manage to see the best in the world even when it treats you like trash." Naruto said with a faint smile. "I could smell that Kin really didn't care much about her orders, and I decided to give her a chance to live. Besides, I can smell my mother coming now."

As if to emphasize this point Naruto's tongue slipped impossibly far out of his mouth, the end stretching and flattening into an extend V that flicked the air before returning to his mouth.

"Now, Lee I think it's time you get back to your team. I have some details to wrap up here, and it would be better for all involved if you weren't present." Naruto said as he turned to face where he could now sense Anko's chakra signature approaching from. "Oh, and Lee? I'd appreciate it if you'd tell anyone who asks that I killed all three Otogakure shinobi immediately. It will be safer for Kin if no one knows that she is still alive."

The bushy-browed shinobi nodded in understanding before turning and running off into the forest to meet up with his teammates. Naruto sighed and brought his hands together in a plus shaped seal, one which Kin didn't recognize.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

The clearing was suddenly filled with puffs of smoke that resolved themselves into ten identical copies of Naruto. Without waiting for instructions they began to shuffle around the clearing, their black-clad forms dragging the bodies of the two Otogakure shinobi into a pile on top of several logs and some dried brush.

"Take off your clothes."

Kin nearly jumped in surprise as Sakura's voice came suddenly from her right elbow. Turning she found the girl was regarding her with a serious expression and a pile of clothes held in her arms.

"Take them off and change into these. We'll find a suitable substitute for your body on the pyre." Sakura repeated and pointed over her shoulder at the cavern they had previously occupied. Sighing, Kin took the offered bundle of clothing and trundled off to change. She did catch sight of the scary woman who was proctoring the entire exam appearing just before she ducked into the small cavern and out of sight of those outside.

As Kin was changing Naruto was having a heated discussion with his mother off in a corner of the clearing. Anko had finally acceded to Naruto's side of the argument it seemed when a pair of his clones, lead by Sasuke, returned dragging the dead body of a wild big approximately Kin's size. It would certainly be enough to trick anyone who investigated the burnt bodies of the Otogakure genin.

Not that Sasuke's cleansing fire would leave much to identify them by.

"Fine gaki, if you say she'll behave then I'll give her a chance. But are you sure you want to do this?" Anko asked as she and Naruto returned to Sakura's side, the blond boy giving his pink-haired girlfriend a quick hug and a reassuring kiss.

"I'm sure mother. She an provide so much needed intel on the bastard, as well as providing us a trump card. I strongly suspect that one or more of the great clans may have snuck a spy into the ranks of our servants, and I'd like to have my own agent in place, one who is capable of dealing with any problems discreetly." Naruto replied with a dark chuckle. "Besides, I scared the poor girl so badly I doubt she'd ever want to leave. Not when she knows I will likely kill her myself if she does."

Anko grinned down at Naruto as he wiped his mouth clean on his sleeve. Her adopted son may not relish blood and killing the way she did, but he didn't shy away from it the way far too many Konoha shinobi did. Her son had had his eyes forced open on that day, nearly eight years before, when a mob of enraged idiots and one traitorous Uchiha had attempted to murder him in cold blood. She knew that her son refused to ever become a victim again; to ever let innocents become a victim, if he could help it.

But she also knew that Naruto's view of who could truly be called innocent was wearing thin, and she silently prayed that none of the idiots in Konoha ever pushed him, because she wasn't sure that she could stop her son should he ever be driven to unleash his full power.

"Okay then. I'll take her with me out of the forest. I'll use Henge for us to get her an appropriate change of clothes and then I'll bring her back to the compound as if she was simply a new servant I hired as a favor to Ayame. In fact, I think I'll ask Ayame to play along. It will make the ruse much easier." Anko's words trailed off into an appreciative whistle as Kin stepped out of the cavern clad in Sakura's spare clothes.

The black haired girl was of course a bit uncomfortable and attempting to cover her self. The clothes, meant for a girl smaller than her self, was tight on her frame, emphasizing every single curve and muscle in her body. Kin may have been relatively plain compared to most of the kunoichi that Naruto and Anko both knew, but given the right clothes to emphasize her features she was obviously attractive. Even Sasuke took notice, although he had to shake his head to clear the image as the sight of Kin's half-naked body brought up images of that blond Suna kunoichi. There was just something about that blond that drew his attention, and he just couldn't make the thoughts of her go away.

"Kin, this is my mother Anko. She'll take you out of the forest and explain what is going to be happening. Give her any trouble or any reason to suspect that you might betray me, and I guarantee you that by the time I'm through with you you will be begging me for death." Naruto said, wrapping an arm around Sakura's waste as he spoke..

Kin shuddered, for she was finally realizing just how deeply she had gotten her self into this shit. Being the clever girl that she was though she recognized the fact that given the situation she had gotten her self into she was getting a pretty decent deal out of it. I mean, sure, the people she was now indebted to were snake-loving psychos who would kill her if she ever so much as thought about betraying them, but they were STRONG snake-loving psychos, and if working for them meant having their protection and maybe even one day trust, then she would take that any day over working for a snake-loving psycho who used his subordinates at random for his insane experiments.

"I understand, Naruto-sama." She said softly, bowing her head in subservience.

_Anything to get out of this hellish life as one of Orochimaru's expendable lackeys._

As the black haired kunoichi left the clearing following the psycho lady Anko she caught sight of Naruto embracing Sakura in a tender embrace, stroking a strand of hair out of her face before kissing her gently.

_Besides, any man who shows that much tenderness for the woman he loves can't be all bad._

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest a weakened Orochimaru was slinking away towards the edge of the forest, searching for an opening to escape unnoticed. He was very thankful that his best medic-nin had been in the forest at the time or else, he reluctantly had to admit, the venom from that strange boy's snake might have actually done him in.

Orochimaru was of course now very interested in the Namikaze heir.

* * *

"So, Naruto, tell me, what happened to that seal Orochimaru put on you? I know it isn't on your neck anymore. I got a pretty clear view of where it had been during our make out session." Sakura said said as she and her teammates ran through the forest. They could see the top of the tower in the distance and they were hurrying to reach it as fast as possible.

Naruto chuckled. "Let's just say that someone with mutual interest in not being influenced by that bastard helped me burn that damn seal off before it could take root. Good thing too. From what I could tell it was trying to influence my mind, and would have allowed Orochimaru some modicum of control over me. I doubt anyone without my…condition could have broken free of the damn thing." He said with a faint grin.

Sakura and Sasuke both chuckled as they continued along their path.

* * *

Team 7 reached the tower without further incident. Since barely two days had passed they had three days to them selves to relax, something they took to happily. Sasuke was surprised to learn that the Suna team had arrived in just under an hour, setting a new record for the exam, and it made him even more intrigued in that blond Suna kunoichi. Even if the thoughts kept bothering him at the most inopportune times.

Sakura and Naruto on the other hand had disappeared into the room assigned to the blond boy and had barely been seen the entire three days. However, those with rooms nearby had been heard complaining to the exam proctors about the loud noises coming from the room, including frequent cries of "Oh Kami!!" and "Deeper!!" Rumor had it that one bold kunoichi had even asked the exam proctors to order whatever guy was responsible for making a girl utter those cries to share his skill with the other kunoichi gathered at the tower. Sasuke had instantly nipped that rumor in the bud, if only to save his sanity as he knew full well what would happen should Sakura find that _any_ girl had been after her boyfriend.

The other teams meanwhile kept mostly to themselves as they recovered from their ordeal. In fact, the only team Sasuke had actually seen other than the Suna team was Team 10, and that had been when the trio had arrived bloody and bruised on the evening of the third day. He figured that the three were resting up after the strain of reaching the tower.

Once the three days had passed the members of Team 7 gathered in the chamber that was to house the completion ceremony for the second half of the exam along with the other teams who had passed. Surprisingly, of the seven teams who graced the halls, six were from Konoha. The seventh was the Suna team, who stood slightly off to the side as the gathered genin lined up.

Naruto only paid half attention as the preliminaries that were to be held and the rules therein were explained by a sickly looking Jounin. He smirked with some satisfaction as Kabuto resigned from the exam, knowing full well that Anko had ANBU standing ready to capture the bastard spy the first opportunity they had. He also grinned as the man explained that the next stage would be preliminary matches involving one on one battles. Naruto's blood was boiling at the thought of a good one on one match, especially since he would hopefully get to fight a strong opponent.

When the rules had finally been explained, as well as the real reason for the Chunin Exams, everyone turned in anticipation as a panel on the wall slid upwards to reveal an electronic screen. Everyone held their breaths fore a long moment before the screen beeped and the first pair of names was displayed. Everyone blinked for a moment before a pair of utterances informed the gathered shinobi of who the two combatants were.

"This is troublesome."

"Oh hell yes! I get to beat the lazy-ass into the ground."

As the two chosen to fight walked to take their positions the rest of the gathered shinobi made their way to one of two balconies overlooking the chamber. As Naruto and his team took their chosen spot lounging against the wall on the side of the room mostly dominated by Konoha shinobi the blond genin smirked. Only the first fight and already he was sure he was going to enjoy this.

On the screen on the wall two names continued to flash as their owners gathered for their match.

Nara Shikamaru

VS

Inuzuka Kiba.

* * *

AN: Well, this chapter was more difficult to write than I originally anticipated, but I've had the stress of trying to find a job interfering with my ability to write lately. I hope you all enjoyed it though. I tried to emphasize Naruto's growing darkness, and how its tied in directly with his beliefs of protecting innocents. Those beliefs will be taxed though when events cause him to decide that there are few who are truly innocent. And just what could I be intending with Hakumei, I wonder? Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, that is going to be revealed quite soon. The bond between spirit and summoner is nearing completion and Sakura will soon be aware of Hakumei's presence. And don't forget Naruto's new weapons. I know I only showcased them briefly, but they will get play again soon. Of course, I won't be revealing everything about them quite yet. That would spoil the surprise.

This story is of course much darker than any of my other projects, although Desert Fox Redux will have its own blend of darkness. My Harry Potter fics will also likely contain a certain darkness, though that won't be as intense or in the front of things as in Golden Viper. Golden Viper was envisioned from the beginning as a darker version of Naruto, and that includes his willingness to kill without hesitation to protect those he cares about. I am actually not sure of which way to take the later portions of the fic, as I have two ideas that are in many ways equally as dark. But that decision will be saved for later, when I have a better idea of Naruto's character and how he will react to the situation that will lead to the decision. Either way, I can sum up the ultimate pathway of the story in two words: Konoha's Fucked.

Thanks for reading, and for being so patient with me while I've been busy and stressed. As always, thank you for reading, and please review. For those of you who read my other works, I will probably update my Harry Potter fic next, followed by either Phoenix Rising or Desert Fox Redux. I am going to wait to work on the next chapter of Legacy of the Planet until I have decided precisely how I want Naruto to unveil his abilities. It's a tricky path and I want to be sure that I do it carefully so as not to disrupt what I have planned for that story.

-ZI

**Technique Translations**

**Makyou Akumu Bun'ya**--_Demonic Nightmare Realm/_ This technique traps the user within a nightmare of their own making. Combining their own subconscious fears and desires, it manipulates the victim into willingly divulging information. It works best against either weak-willed targets, or against victims already under the affect of fear stimuli or psychotropic drugs. (C-Class Genjutsu)

**Review Responses**

Brooklyn Maxwell – Thank you, and you are most welcome. And Kakashi is due to improve soon. Having none of his students make it to the finals will cause the baka to reevaluate his behavior.

DustBunnyQueen – Hehe, oh man, the ideas that are running through my head. But I think I will save that Omake until I can write it properly. Something like that deserves some time spent perfecting it. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter, and hopefully you'll check out my other projects.

Bandgsecurtiyaw – Your welcome.

Getsuga Tensou – Hehe. I'll do my best then.

Moonfal – Hehe, sweet. And yes, they do look bad ass, but not half as badass as what I have ultimately designed for them. And Hakumei is a fox, so of course she is devious. She will also be awesome once she reveals her self fully. And she certainly won't be the last of such critters to unveil themselves. I have big plans for everyone's favorite insomniac. Oh yes, big plans.

-ZI

AlphaDelta1001 – As you can see, Orochimaru still had plans. Too bad the pedophile completely underestimated his target. And he most certainly was playing with the boy. If Orochi-teme had been serious Naruto wouldn't have stood a chance. Not yet anyways.

Well, did I or did I not say earlier in a review response that I intended to get Sasuke laid by a very hot kunoichi? *chuckles*

Until next time, jaa ne.

-ZI

Alec-potter – And who said Orochimaru wouldn't be involved in the forest, hmm? With my changes to the story there were consequences, and one of them was Orochimaru targeting Naruto, though for a different reason than why he targeted Sasuke in canon. He wanted Naruto for his experiments.

Kontraband – Hehe, thanks. It was a ruse to psyche out the other examinees, though of course it doesn't stand up under combat conditions. Naruto very much stands at the head during these early battles.

Hehe, the sentiment is appreciated. If you are interested however in attempting to draw certain weapons from this and my other stories then drop me a line (aka, send me a PM). I can attempt to give you much more detailed descriptions of the weapons.

Yeah, Asuma did look pretty badass. I always felt that he could take on one of the Seven. Too bad he had to face the immortal bastards instead.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter Sai (damn cool name if I do say so myself). As I said earlier I think, the next chapter likely to be updated will be Guardians' Wyrd, followed by either Phoenix Rising or Desert Fox Redux.

Jaa ne.

-ZI

Paladin13 – Oh yes. Such a smartass that he taunts Orochimaru of the Sannin. Hey, at least it kept him alive, ne? And yes, Sakura and Sasuke are supposed to be both counterpoints to Naruto as well as stabilizers for him. If either of them should be killed you can bet there will be retribution. Should both of them die, then there would be no force on Earth capable of preventing him from slaughtering the entire human race. The Kyuubi would be proud.

Jaa ne Paladin.

-ZI the Nightstalker (I have decided to choose a new monicker every chapter)

Thales85 – Obviously the bastard was still in the exam. He just had a different target. *snicker* and that target was after him hahaha.

Believeit6 – No, Sasuke didn't really change his outfit before this. And Sasuke's outfit is only slightly changed to make him fit in with his teammates better for the purpose of their ruse. He won't drastically change his clothing until later. And there are many reasons why Asuma is not wearing the outfit. Amongst them the fact that he is still loyal to Konoha, while to Naruto's the outfits represent in many respects his challenge to those who would treat him like crap.

Prauge – Given that this is a dark Naruto fic, the Naruto "I'll work as hard as I can" thing isn't part of his personality. He'll make the vengeance of the damned look like hugs and kisses. Naruto is strong because he has been properly trained. Lachesis is merely an improvement over other abilities he has learned from Anko, which he could freely draw on instead if he wanted to. As to work ethic, the kid has basically been driven to ensure he can protect him self from any threat since he was twelve. Except in this story, he hasn't been sabotaged or ignored.

Lord Ezra-eil – It is a strictly NaruxSaku fic, but that doesn't meant that Katsumi's story will be all bad. I mean, hell, I'm already working towards giving the little annoying bitch a chance to a redeem her self.

Spider of the leaf – Why can't all my readers be as perceptive as you? Yes, Naruto and Sakura are engaged. Thankfully Sakura's mother had become accepting enough that after a discussion with Anko she was willing to sign the betrothal contract. And thanks to the rules about it, the clan head and clan elders can't do a damn thing about it. That is why she wears Naruto's clan symbol like he and his mother, and why Sasuke in this chapter and the end of the last chapter merely has the snakes. Sasuke after all is an Uchiha, not part of the Namikaze Clan.

Congratulations on figuring it out from the clues provided. I didn't actually expect anyone to figure it out for another few chapters.

Kyuubiwolf23 – Haha, sorry to disappoint, but it was supposed to be an indication of a factor tied to her connection with her partner. Summons of any sort require a lot of chakra, and the effects of the bonding process are causing her to eat a considerable amount to build up energy. And yes, as you have just witnessed, Naruto did in fact have a surprise for the snakey bastard.

-ZI the Nightstalker

I.E.T.S. – I'll do my best then. As to the outfit changes, there were reasons behind them, and it won't be the last time this happens in the story. I promise though that outfit changes that occur will not be gratuitous…unless its new clothes for a date or something.

Lexor – All of the snakes were clones of Lachesis, well, except the one on Naruto's shoulders. Lachesis simply refuses to shrink smaller than that, so that was why she appeared larger than the clones. I hope you liked Lachesis' little sneak attack on Orochi-teme.

KunochiDreamer – Thank you. Hopefully you will continue to enjoy this story, and maybe if you have time you'll check out my other stories as well.

OutlawKnight - *shrugs* what can I say? I'm trying to write something that is different in so many ways. Sasuke's bastard tendencies were a DIRECT result of the massacre and his brother's mindfuck of him using Tsukuyomi. Remove the worst parts of that event and he isn't so bad. And Naruto is mostly happy. He also has had his eyes opened for six years as to why people hate him, and the stress of that knowledge has changed him.

Trey Miller – Why thank you. I guess that means that I'm doing something right with this story. Punk Sakura was fun to design when I first thought of what she would wear if she and Naruto became that close of a couple, and while I originally had an even more elaborate outfit planned, I decided that a simpler one matching Naruto's would suit the story more. As to Mallet-tan, doubtful. That would break the seriousness of the work. But I may have to consider that for an Omake.

-ZI the Nightstalker

Sweet Heavens – Yeah yeah, I know. But if I had to choose between a two line notation and speaking with my readers, I'll choose this any day. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.

sessholove4lyf – Thank you.

BackYard – Thank you. And no, this is strictly SakuraxNaruto. Ino, like in canon, is interested in Sasuke.

Naruhina-otaku – Yeah, there is a nice fic I was reading that actually inspired my choice of name for this fic (the whole naming it after Naruto's nickname thing), but it unfortunately hasn't updated in a while. I haven't heard from the authoress either, so I hope everything is alright. There is also a good fic by EroSlackerMicha where Naruto is involved with both Anko and Hana, and that one is just downright wicked. As to your question, it was neither. The Uchiha who attacked him shall remain anonymous for the moment, but only because I don't want to ruin part of the story as I have it planned.

Naruhina-otaku – Replying to your second review ^_^

Don't worry, Sasuke will get better. And no, Katsumi will most certainly NOT be joining Orochimaru. Though after certain events she won't necessarily refuse a request to join Madara in destroying Konoha.

Naruhina-otaku – Replying to your third review (o ) ^/_\^ =^_^= (That's supposed to be Tobi, Itachi, and Naruto smileys)

Yes, snakes are awesome. And I still can't believe you have an amethystine python. Those are beautiful snakes. Poor dog though. And your right, I'm sure the bastard didn't stand a chance.

-ZI the Nightstalker

Iambocaj – Thank you. I'm hoping people recognize that neither of them is their canon selves. Far bloody from it.

Narutorules – Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.

Leaprechaun1 - *chuckles* irony of ironies, but I have an epilogue to the very slow moving ranma project I'm working on with a friend buried somewhere in my computer, and it is most assuredly lemon. At some point I may very well write a side scene to one of my stories that is a lemon, possibly a sequence taking place in Golden Viper during a time skip.

Maileesaeya – Well, it wasn't too hard once I really thought about what he might have become had he not been mindfucked by his brother. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and Sasuke using an uber fire technique to go boom boom on Orochimaru.

InARealPickle – I had Naruto, at age 8, who has seen more in those 8 years than most men see in a life time, and who has been raised by Anko for two years. The gaki has basically been forced to grow up and act more like an adult. He's also had the facts of life forced on him, and this includes an understanding of liking girls. Early on he was basically just trying to lay claim to a girl he thought he might like that way once his hormones kicked in. He also saw the way the Uchiha bitch was looking at him, and felt that the easiest way to hopefully get rid of her was to make her see he wasn't available.

NorthernLights25 – Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Serenarey Chiba – Again, though I know I sent you a PM, thank you for noticing that. I didn't even notice that I had been doing that. It may be because I learned everyone's first and last names from the anime, but I had to search out Sarutobi's first name manually, so it isn't associated the same way in my brain.

DarkSyde24 – Naruto learned a lot from Anko, including some of her snake-related techniques. Naruto has merely adapted to Lachesis and her abilities in order to improve his own abilities. There isn't much that he can do with a Sen'eijashu that Lachesis and some of her clones can't do better. She can develop and modify her toxins too. And Naruto will develop an ability or two that doesn't rely on snakes, but for the most part a fair number of his abilities will rely on or be inspired by his snakes. There is just so much there for him to work with.


	11. Chapter 11: ReadyFIGHT!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

Chapter 11: Ready…FIGHT!

* * *

**Last Time, on Konoha's Golden Viper...  
**

"This is troublesome."

"Oh hell yes! I get to beat the lazy-ass into the ground."

As the two chosen to fight walked to take their positions the rest of the gathered shinobi made their way to one of two balconies overlooking the chamber. As Naruto and his team took their preferred spot lounging against the wall on the side of the room mostly dominated by Konoha shinobi, the blond genin smirked. Only the first fight and already he was sure he was going to enjoy this.

The screen on the wall continued to flash the two names of the next match while their owners readied themselves.

Nara Shikamaru

VS

Inuzuka Kiba.

* * *

Kiba and Akamaru faced off with Shikamaru as Hayate took his position as referee. Kiba was grinning widely while Shikamaru just looked bored and annoyed.

"You better give me a good fight, Shikamaru, or else I'm gonna pound you into the dust."

Shikamaru just sighed and shook his head.

As Hayate prepared to start the match Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, a simple plan to end the match quickly entering his head.

"Troublesome." He muttered as Hayate lowered his hand between them and shouted begin.

Kiba and Akamaru rushed Shikamaru immediately. Shikamaru just remained standing in position, watching closely as the feral boy rushed towards him. In the balconies above many of his fellow rookies let out gasps of fear as they saw he wasn't attempting to do anything to dodge Kiba's rush. The exceptions were Ino and Chouji, who were both smirking, and Naruto, who's eyes were narrowed.

_Just what are you playing at, Shikamaru?_

Just as Kiba was about to lash out with a punch Shikamaru smirked and his hands blurred through a set of seals. By the time Kiba's fist was an inch in front of his face he had finished, and suddenly the feral boy was not moving. Or rather, he was struggling to move, but found that his body wasn't responding. Akamaru had been aiming to prevent Shikamaru from dodging away, so he went skidding past since his intended victim hadn't moved. He too suddenly let out a yelp as he became trapped in the same jutsu as his master. Kiba's eyes widened as he finally took notice of the floor between him and Akamaru.

"So, you noticed." Shikamaru muttered. "I can use my shadow to take control of my opponent's movements. If you don't surrender immediately I will be forced to make your precious Akamaru run head first into the wall until he knocks himself unconscious. I will then make you draw one of your kunai and disable yourself."

Shikamaru smirked at Kiba as his eyes widened further.

"Well, what is your choice?"

Kiba growled and would have clenched his fists had he been control. Instead he closed his eyes and muttered, barely loud enough for Hayate to hear.

"I give up…please don't hurt Akamaru."

Shikamaru smirked and released the technique as soon as Hayate had confirmed his victory. He was after all a lazy ass and did not want to have to fight a prolonged battle…especially against an opponent he'd have to deal with on a regular basis should he hold a grudge after words.

Things were just too…troublesome.

In the balcony above Naruto smirked as his pineapple haired friend walked past with his hands in his pockets.

A quite beep alerted the gathered shinobi that the screen had flashed again, and they all turned to look up to see the next match.

Tenten

Vs

Sabaku no Kankuro

Next to him Sasuke looked across the room to see the face-paint-wearing black-clothed shinobi from Suna who appeared to use puppets to fight smirk and start to walk down the stairs. To his right he caught sight of the girl on Maito Gai's team with her hair in buns walk towards and past him, heading down the stairs her self. Sasuke smirked and leant back against the wall.

As the two competitors took their positions below he triggered his Sharingan silently so that he could observe Kankuro. The Suna-genin was on the same team as the creepy red-haired genin-

_Sure, I'm one to call someone creepy. My teammate scares the crap out of pretty much everybody except his fan girls and I'm calling someone else creepy?_ _What's wrong with me?_

-that Naruto had told him was the Shukaku. That meant that he was a very possible enemy, and it would be safest to have an advantage should he be forced to fight him. Thus he had his Sharingan activated, and he was certain that next to him both Naruto and Sakura had their entire attentions focused on the fight below as well.

On the arena floor Hayate dropped his hand again and Tenten leapt backwards into the air. As she dropped towards the floor she unrolled a pair of scrolls which vanished in two puffs of smoke and rose into the air like a pair of dragons. Suddenly a huge swarm of bladed weapons went flying out of the smoke towards Kankuro. The Suna genin smirked and discarded the object on his back and crossed his arms before him while Tenten watched and smirked as her weapons neared and then impacted, spearing through her target.

"Yes!" She yelled out, moments before the bandage wrapped object that Kankuro had discarded suddenly shot upwards and unraveled, revealing Kankuro whole and unharmed.

"Not yet, bitch." He said, leaping towards Tenten and lashing out with a kunai.

Tenten dodged it worriedly, trying to pull her weapons back using the wires connected to them, but all she succeeded in doing was dragging 'Kankuro', or rather the one that was now revealed to be a puppet, towards her. The fake Kankuro kept moving though, and rather than colliding with his real self ran straight towards her. From the stands above Team 7 watched dispassionately as the Suna genin and his copy rammed their fists into Tenten's stomach, dropping the poor girl like a stone. Hayate called the match a few moments later and medic nins entered the room to carry Tenten away to be examined.

"He fights using the puppet. It may not have looked it, but he clearly favors using it to fight while he stays out of reach." Sasuke said to his teammates as the board began to beep, preparing to display the next match.

"Hn." Naruto agreed. He crossed his arms as he evaluated what he had witnessed.

_Kankuro used poison on his weapons. Sasuke and Sakura lack my immunity to poisons. That means that given the choice, I should be the one to engage him. _

"I wonder who will fight next." Sakura said as she looked up to the board, her ponytail swinging back over her shoulder with the motion.

When the board finally displayed the names there were gasps around the room, and Naruto noticed a dark-haired boy he recognized from official functions as the nephew of the Hyuuga clan head turn and smirk superiorly at his younger cousin.

Hyuuga Neji

Vs

Hyuuga Hinata

Naruto groaned. While this was certainly a good chance to gather combat data on the Byakugan, he just knew that this couldn't end well. The Hyuuga heir had always been shy, and he was well aware that she had had a crush on him for years. Her cousin on the other hand was reported to hate the main branch with a vengeance, and Naruto didn't doubt that the boy would be aiming to deal as much damage to the poor girl as he could.

_Poor girl. She will either forfeit or she will die. I really don't see any two ways around this match._

As the pair of Hyuuga walked down to the floor below Sakura noticed the way Naruto was watching Hinata closely and she elbowed him in the rib. Rather than grunt or cry out in pain Naruto just turned his head to look at her, causing Sakura to raise her eyebrow and put a pouting angry face on.

"I'm evaluating her chances and the outcomes of the match, my love. Do not worry." Naruto smiled and uncrossed his arms, cupping Sakura's face in one hand and pulling her down into a kiss.

The pair was so engrossed in their kiss that neither of them noticed as after just a few words of taunting and a glance up to see the boy she liked making out with another girl rather than watching her fight, Hinata crumbled and gave up, running crying to her team where her sensei Kurenai and her teammate Kiba attempted to comfort her. Kazumi merely snorted at the girl, but then again she was Katsumi's lackey, and was pleased that one more obstacle to her cousin's goals had been removed.

As Naruto and Sakura finally broke their kiss to catch their breath, smiling as they gazed deep into each other's eyes, the board beeped and the fourth match was displayed. Looking up at it the pair smirked in unison.

_This match should be interesting for a change_.

On the screen two names were once again displayed, causing a pair of kunoichi to glare at one another across the room.

Inuzuka Kaede

Vs

Sabaku no Temari

Inuzuka Kaede let out a cheer of "Let's do this Ryoushimaru!" as she leapt over the railing and landed lightly on the ground below in a crouch, grinning ferally at the blonde who was currently walking down the steps from the opposite side of the room.

Temari in contrast silently walked to the ground, smirking at the watching Konoha genin. This loud Konoha girl was going down; she was going to make sure of it. Suna needed to be represented well during the exams, regardless of what _other_ plans were currently in place.

In the stands above two pairs of eyes on opposing balconies narrowed as they eyed the girls squaring off below. Naruto had never seen Kaede fight in concert with her partner Ryoushimaru before and he was eager to see just what the black-furred pup was capable of. He was also curious as to what the Suna girl could do, since she was on a team with the container of the Shukaku. Gaara on the other hand was merely observing to see if this girl that his sister was about to fight would have blood worthy of feeding to Mother.

Next to Naruto Sasuke was also watching closely, but if the dark-haired boy would have been honest with him self then he would have admitted that he was really watching to admire Temari's figure more than to assess her combat ability.

As Temari squared off with Kaede and Ryoushimaru the older girl placed one hand lightly on her fan in preparation of launching a kamaitachi as soon as the battle began. She figured that the dark-haired girl would likely move for a direct attack, thus leaving her vulnerable to Temari's wind techniques.

When Hayate dropped his arms to indicate the beginning of the fight Kaede growled and crouched, performing a series of hand seals as Ryoushimaru leapt on top of her back.

"Jūjin Bunshin!" The dark-haired girl cried out as both she and her pup vanished in a burst of chakra smoke just when Temari began to swing her fan to form a kamaitachi.

As the smoke cleared two copies of Kaede were revealed, one crouched on top of the other, and both copies looked decidedly feral. Before Temari could react the two copies of her opponent leapt away in different directions, rushing Temari from both sides as the blond-haired girl swiftly tried to turn her abortive attempt to launch a kamaitachi into a defensive measure instead. Just as the pair of Kaede's were about to strike with their decidedly claw-like fingers Temari spun in place, her fan whipping the winds up around her into a violent cyclone of wind that battered the pair of girls away.

Not wasting any time Temari went after the one that had just vanished in a puff of smoke, swinging her closed fan around to slam into Ryoushimaru and propel the injured black pup into the nearest wall.

"No! Ryoushimaru!" Temari heard Kaede cry from across the room.

Temari smirked. Shikamaru's fight with Kiba earlier had unintentionally provided Temari with an understanding of the Inuzuka clan's behavior, giving her an edge in her match which she was more than happy to take advantage of.

"Take another step and the dog gets it." Temari said as she drew a kunai and dropped to one knee, holding the tip of the blade against the throat of Kaede's unconscious partner.

Kaede ceased moving immediately, growling deep in her throat as she glared at the blond kunoichi.

"Now, you have two choices. You can either win this match at the cost of your partner's life, or you can give up and spare yourself the guilt of knowing that the blood of your beloved pet is on your hands." Temari said, grinning.

_This is too easy._ The blond Suna kunoichi thought to her self.

"Or I take option C." Kaede's growling voice came from behind Temari. "You surrender or I kill you. Your choice."

The blond girl's eyes widened as she realized that the 'puppy' she was holding a knife to had been replaced by a section of floor tile and that two copies of Kaede now stood in the room. One stood across from her and was growling at her while the other held a pair of kunai, one against her throat and the other pinned against the back of her neck.

Temari glared at one of the copies as best she could, but as soon as she felt Kaede begin to press the kunai against her neck against her she cried out.

"All right, all right, you win. I give up." Temari said, letting out her breath as soon as the pressure from the kunai against her neck slackened.

As she stood and rubbed her neck, checking for wounds, she saw the Kaede that had been standing before her transform back into a Ryoushimaru, who was happily wagging his tail as he ran over to a grinning Kaede. Together the pair walked back up to their balcony as Temari groaned and trudged back to her balcony, hoping that her brother wasn't too angry that she had failed.

As the boisterous pair of Kaede and Ryoushimaru passed him Naruto looked up at the screen, his arm around Sakura's waist as they waited for the next match to appear. When it did his eyes narrowed and he felt Sakura tense beside him.

On the board above the statue between the two balconies were displayed a pair of names that caused Naruto no end of worry.

Haruno Sakura

Vs

Uchiha Katsumi

Naruto hugged Sakura to him and leant his head against hers, whispering in her ear.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm sure you can take her. Just remember everything we've worked on together and you'll do fine." He said as he kissed her lightly on the cheek and gave her one last squeeze before letting her go, the pair of lovers glaring at a smug Uchiha Katsumi as the girl trudged past. "And if you think you are going to lose, then please, baby, don't hesitate to give up. I won't think any less of you, and I'm afraid of the distances Katsumi might go to get her way."

Sakura nodded and then steeled her self for the fight.

_I don't care what Naruto says, I'm going to prove my strength to him. I'll prove that I don't always need to be protected_.

Outside the sun was beginning to set, and as the sky began to darken to twilight something stirred within Sakura's soul as she walked down the steps to stand across from the smirking Katsumi.

* * *

"It's time it's time it's time!" Hakumei shouted excitedly from her home within the necklace, excited as she felt the bridge of power between her and her Summoner finally stabilizing. "Come on come on come on! Pick me! I'll help! I wanna help! Please?!!!! Come on Summoner-sama!!"

* * *

Sakura shook her head as Hayate stepped forward, attempting to shake loose the illusion that had some how entered her mind. She wasn't sure who, but someone was apparently attempting to use a discrete genjutsu to interfere with her match, but she wasn't going to say anything. Naruto would want her to be able to deal with it on her own, so she would.

"You won't win by trying underhanded tricks like that." Sakura muttered.

Katsumi couldn't hear what she said, so the brown haired girl merely blinked in confusion.

"Ready? Fight!" Hayate said, leaping back as he said so.

Sakura immediately rushed forward while flipping her hands through a series of hand seals.

"Suiton: Kawa o Chikara!" She cried out, bringing her hands together in a triangular seal that Katsumi didn't recognize.

The Uchiha girl was so surprised by what happened next that she barely managed to dodge as the air in the room suddenly became bone dry and a powerful stream of water shot out from Sakura's palms, cracking the wall behind where Katsumi had been standing but moments before.

"Kyaa!" Sakura cried out as she dodged a thrown kunai from Katsumi, rolling to her feet with a pair of shuriken that she had palmed ready to be thrown.

"I'm going to prove here and now to Naruto-kun that I'M the one he should be dating. You're just useless trash from a no-name clan. You don't even have any special abilities." Katsumi taunted her pink haired nemesis.

"Get back here you bitch!" Sakura cried out as she chased towards where Katsumi was retreating towards the wall, launching the pair of shuriken at her.

Katsumi smirked and leapt into the air, dodging the projectiles. Before Sakura could react she brought her hands together and sucked in a deep breath.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!!" Katsumi cried out as she breathed out, launching a massive fireball down towards her opponent. Sakura was so close there was no way that she could completely dodge the attack.

Sure enough, as soon as the fireball impacted with the ground and exploded Katsumi had the pleasure of seeing Sakura flung across the room away from where Katsumi was standing on top of the statue. Katsumi smiled in triumph as her pink haired nemesis struggled to her feet, batting frantically at burnt holes in her clothes.

"My my, just look at that hair. That just won't do, not at all. My Naruto deserves a girl who takes care of her hair properly." Katsumi taunted again as she stroked a hand through her own hair, silently palmed a set of senbon needles she had hid there.

Sakura reached up and felt her hair in confusion, her eyes widening as she realized that most of her ponytail was now missing, burnt off by the blaze of flame she had just barely managed to dodge. Sakura began to tremble as the realization that the bitch before her had ruined her hair sank in. She was about to rush in out of rage when Naruto's voice echoed from above, snapping her out of her fury for a moment and reinvigorating her courage and determination.

"Come on Sakura, don't let her taunting get to you. You can do this. I believe in you!" Naruto cried out as he leant over the rail, cupping his hands to amplify his voice as he cheered on the woman he loved.

"Yeah!" Sakura heard another voice cry out, one she didn't recognize. It was feminine, but it had an odd growling undertone to it that she couldn't place. "Come on, let me help. Together we'll teach this bitch not to mess with us foxes. Come on, what do you say? Let a girl out of her cage for a change? I'll be good, I promise!"

Sakura blinked as her vision was once again overtaken by a vision of a spherical chamber bathed in twilight. In the center of the chamber a small pale red fox with three blue-tinted tails and a blue diamond on her forehead was jumping up and down yammering excitedly. It took Sakura a moment to realize that the voice she was hearing was coming from the fox before her, whose eyes were slitted and a pure crystalline blue, reminding Sakura of that strange grove she had found back in the Wave Country.

"Come on, please?! I know Brother must be around and I wanna show him how much I've grown. Come on, pretty please? Hakumei will be a good girl if you let me help, I promise!!"

Sakura blinked again, unaware that back outside her mind her opponent was watching her still form in confusion.

_Just what are you planning Haruno Sakura?_

"Just what are you?" Sakura asked as she looked around in her confusion. "What is this place?"

The fox smiled happily and padded over to her and bowed.

"I am Hakumei, Summoner-sama, and since you took my focus from the Grove of Twilight I am your humble servant and partner." Hakumei said in her bubbly voice. "And this is a representation of my vessel linked to your mind, a method for us to communicate while I sleep and regain my power."

Sakura blinked again.

"Dwah?"

Hakumei sat back on her haunches.

"Your people call my kind demons or summon animals, I suppose, although neither is entirely accurate. Most so-called demons are merely members of my species who have been very very bad and disobeyed the covenants. And summon animals, icky, they are too social for my taste. They gather in groups because they are too weak on their own."

Sakura blinked again.

"O-kay…so what does that have to do with me?" She asked, now curious as to what was going on.

"I am your summon, Summoner-sama. You are the first human in over three thousand years to be chosen by the Twilight to bear its power. I am merely an agent of the Twilight, bound to aid those it chooses to give the gift to in exchange for power and eternal life." Hakumei said with a smile. "And if you will allow, I am ready to assist you in fighting this human bitch who is attempting to steal your mate from you."

Hakumei chuckled.

"I must say, after the nights he's given you, I don't see why you even allow that little one to challenge you."

Sakura blushed and then smiled. She liked this fox, even if she was just likely going insane.

"Ok, well, what do I need to do to gain your help then?" She asked.

Hakumei smiled again and walked over to her.

"It is simple, Sakura-san. You merely need to accept the bond of the Twilight. The power will be yours to command once you do that. I will train you in its use when we have more time. For now, all you need know is how to draw it to yourself, and how to summon me to your aid."

Hakumei leapt forward and disappeared into Sakura's chest. Immediately Sakura felt the knowledge of how to use the summoning technique enter her mind before the world suddenly returned to normal-

FFFWWWOOOSSSHHHH

-just in time to see a spread of small fireballs flying towards her.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Sakura cried out as she frantically bit her thumb and performed a series of five hand seals and then slid the bloody digit down her right arm, which was bare of her arm warmers thanks to Katsumi's previous fire attack. There was a summoning tattoo on her arm now, still glowing faintly gold from its imprinting, and as Sakura finished streaking the blood along it there was a massive puff of smoke and a burst of blue fire that surrounded her, much to the surprise of Uchiha Katsumi and all those watching.

When the smoke and flame cleared Sakura was revealed to be standing in a ready stance with a pair of kunai held in her hands. Her pupils were glowing with a blue light and her face almost looked like it had faint whisker marks on it. Before her a strange fox crouched on all fours, baring its teeth and snarling at Uchiha Katsumi. In the stands above all the adult Konoha shinobi widened their eyes in surprise.

The small fox that stood before Sakura was a pale red with three tails waving in the air behind it. The tails appeared to be tinted blue towards the tips, and some of the adults could see a faint blue diamond on the forehead of the beast. The fox was about three feet in length from its red nose to the blue-tinged tips of its tails, but its snarling and its wildly waving tails made it seem larger to the gathered shinobi. To many of the Konoha shinobi, the fact that the lover (some would say 'demon whore') of the Kyuubi jinchuriki had summoned a fox was troubling at best.

"You want to try that again, huh bitch?" Sakura growled out between clenched teeth, her new fangs biting into her lip and drawing blood. "Well then, let's do things your way!"

Sakura grasped one of the kunai tighter and focused before tossing it, the blade igniting with a bright blue flame just like the one that had protected her from Katsumi's attack. The Uchiha girl barely managed to dodge the attack, the heat from the kunai's passing nearly igniting her own hair.

"Heh, can't take the heat, can you bitch? Well, you should know better than to mess with foxfyre." Sakura continued as she concentrated on the second kunai and then sent another flaming spear of blue death towards her rival.

Before her Hakumei remained in place, continuing to growl and watch for any sign of attack as her tails raged through the air above her. In the stands above Naruto's eyes were widening, both in surprise at the change in his girlfriend and at what the Kyuubi was now relating to him.

Inside Naruto's mindscape the Kyuubi had been dumbstruck as he watched what could only be one of his brethren appear at the side of his host's mate. She was older than when he had last seen her, and had at some point acquired her third tail. But what was she doing here with his host's mate? Had Sakura somehow formed a contract with the Twilight?

_**Hakumei**_**…** He growled inside Naruto's mind, drawing the poor surprised blonde's attention.

_What was that, Kyuubi?_ He asked as Lachesis slithered up beside the pair within the jungle of the Naruto's mindscape while simultaneously poking her head out of Naruto's coat in the real world.

_**That's my sister, Hakumei. But what she is doing here I cannot understand. There has not been a Summoner of the Twilight in over three of your millennia.**_

Kyuubi narrowed his eyes contemplatively.

_**I wonder just how much the little one has grown. She was always too kind for her own good.**_

Naruto didn't respond. His lover had begun her counterattack, and Naruto was too busy dealing with the realization that Sakura's new feral transformation was simply fucking hot, and was garnering a number of unfortunately timed reactions from his body.

Back on the arena floor Sakura was smirking as Katsumi attempted to catch her breath after dodging the second of Sakura's flaming projectiles. As Katsumi watched Sakura's pupils continued to glow blue as the pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes at her opponent.

_What the hell is going on? When did she get so strong? This isn't FAIR!! I'm supposed to be the one Naruto-kun falls in love with! Me!!_

"Do you surrender now, bitch, or do I have to take out my revenge for what you Uchiha did to my beloved on you personally?" Sakura asked as she drew some senbon. "Well, I don't have all day. I've got a boy in the stands above I desperately want to get it on with right now, and every second you waste is a second that my pleasure is delayed."

Sakura dropped to one knee and pet Hakumei as she stepped up to the red-furred fox.

"This is Hakumei, my partner. She doesn't like you. She thinks you are an inferior female, not worthy to mate with my beloved. I suggest you surrender before she shows you just what she does to unworthy females." Sakura's grin widened as Katsumi paled in fear.

Everything she had seen, done, and been taught hadn't prepared her for this. It was subtle, but Sakura and her fox were radiating a power and killing intent second only to that which she had felt on that bridge in the Wave Country. It reminded Katsumi of Naruto's, only it was far less cold and deadening.

"I…" Katsumi began hesitantly before swallowing and hardening her resolve. "I am Uchiha Katsumi. I will never be beaten by a no-name like you! I WILL have Naruto-kun for myself! Believe it!"

Everyone in the room shivered as Katsumi said that last line, as if a thousand deaths had just been experienced by each of them at the presence of something so…_wrong_ existing in the world.

Sakura just kept grinning.

"So be it then. Hakumei, sic her."

Hakumei let out a foxy bark and then leapt forward, speeding towards Katsumi faster than the poor girl had expected. As she hastily tried to bring her kunai down to block Hakumei leapt into the air on a burst of blue foxfyre and plowed into Katsumi with a head butt, forcing the dark-haired girl back off the statue and into the wall behind it.

Katsumi collided with the wall, her head slamming into it with a resounding crack, and then slumped to the ground, still as the grave. Hakumei snorted at the fallen girl before turning and trotting back over to Sakura's side as Hayate appeared by Katsumi's side in a shunshin. Hayate quickly checked to confirm that Katsumi was in fact unconscious and then declared Sakura the winner. As medic nins rushed the floor to carry Katsumi out for medical attention Kakashi watched with narrowed eyes as Sakura traipsed happily up the stairs to rejoin Naruto, the strange fox following obediently at her heels.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura cooed as she snuggled into his arms, her eyes still glowing faintly although her other markings had receded. "Did you see me?! Did I do good?!"

Naruto smiled and kissed Sakura deeply before replying.

"You did amazing love, though we are going to have to have a talk later about keeping secrets from one another. Why didn't you tell me you had a fox summon?"

Sakura giggled as she brought a finger up to place the tip over Naruto's lips.

"I didn't know myself until a few minutes ago." She whispered as she leant in close to him. "And that's all I'm saying until we're alone and I've had my wicked way with you again."

Naruto grinned and kissed her again.

"Now that's a proposition I can accept." He said with a smile on his face.

"Well, looks like it's me against one of your mom's students, Naruto." Sasuke said from their side, drawing the couple's attention away from each other.

Naruto and Sakura looked up at the board to see who was to compete next.

Uchiha Sasuke

Vs

Akamichi Chouji

* * *

AN: Well, here is chapter 11 for you all to enjoy. Don't worry, its shorter length is because I felt that this was a good stopping point for the chapter, not because I wanted to derive you of Golden Viper goodness. Chapter 12 of KGV is the next one on my plate before I continue the cycle. Also, this chapter marks the first time I have a chapter completely beta'd. I.E.T.S., one of my readers and whom I am acting as a beta for, has graciously agreed to beta KGV for me. Her aid has helped me tighten up a few parts of this chapter, fix a few grammatical errors, and even gave me inspiration for a piece or two. So please, everyone give her a big round of applause for taking on the daunting task of beta'ing the ramblings of my insane mind.

-ZI

**Review Responses**

Sweet Heavens – Kin serves a role in the story, and one which saved her by death since she was the most readily available and useful to fill the slot. But I am sorry, for I am not turning Sakura bi. This Naruto is a one-woman fox-er-snake-er-mAN! That's what I meant to say. Yes. Yes, that's precisely what I meant to say.

Catsi563 – Well thank you. I really appreciate your consideration.

Oh, trust me, without Sakura Naruto would have become FAR darker. She's his literal anchor. This is a "darker" Naruto fic, not a "dark" Naruto fic. He will not lose all empathy or turn into some death loving demon. He's merely reacting to the way he is treated and his actions will ultimately be decided for him by the mistakes of others.

As to that truly horrific thing, well, you'll all find out. In good time.

-ZI

PS: I'll try to check out your stories this weekend. Thanks for the review Catsi.

Lord Ezra'eil – Haha, its ok man. And again, sorry, but this story was always envisioned as just Naruto and Sakura. The whole 'foxes mate for life' thing is kinda important for the story.

Getsuga Tensou – Kin will survive. She has many uses. Many uses indeed.

Leaprechaun1 – Thanks. ^^

Maileesaeya – I tend to be a TemaxShika fan myself, but I'm obviously not averse to breaking canonical pairings when the stories diverge from canon. And given the plans for the story, there really aren't a lot of canon females who can possibly act as Sasuke's love interest.

Thanks. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

ZaBuchar – The OCs are important to the story, but not in the "Oh, they turn out to be uber powerful and totally kick the good guy's ass" way, more as in the "they are important to the plot but are ultimately ancillary characters." Naruto's true opponents have yet to fully reveal them selves. Likewise with his true allies. And as you must have seen last chapter, Orochimaru went after him, though not to use him as a host body. He wanted the power of the Yondaime's Legacy. He's a spiteful bastard afterall. But Lachesis got him but good.

Hawkgirl90 – I always try to warn when a chapter has more descriptive parts in it (I've done this to a chapter or two of my other projects already) and any time I do so I am willing to create an edited version of the chapter and email it upon request.

Thanks.

Paladin13 – I just did what I expected would happen, as well as attempting to explain what happened to Orochimaru's two subordinates in the forest. I've actually seen the seal be BLOWN off using an overload of Kyuubi's chakra, which is part of what inspired Naruto burning the damn thing away. The other part was that without really thinking about it, the way I established the seal and its power in this story unintentionally gave Naruto a weapon to aid in fighting off the damn curse seal. And yes, Naruto still has most, if not all, of his core beliefs. Hell, at this point, despite everything they've done to him, he still wants little more than to protect Konoha.

Lexor – Well, I'm trying to show that while he still has the happy side, he is more sadistic and ruthless. He is not the naïve foolish innocent boy he once was anymore.

KunochiDreamer – Hehe, thanks. I felt it was time the teme got bit him self.

Hells-fox – Thanks. Hopefully you enjoyed the fight scenes, and the cat fight at the end.

Kontraband – Thanks man.

Ah, haha. Well, intriguing to know.

There is a damn good reason for the curse seal thing. First, I thought long and hard about it and realized that with Naruto's ancestry known, Orochimaru still planning his invasion, and all that entailed, that the snake-teme would most likely go after Naruto. If the curse seal took hold and Naruto survived, he'd be able to twist the son of the man who received the title of Yondaime instead of him. If Naruto didn't survive, well, then Naruto had the pleasure of wiping the son of the Yondaime from the world. As to the removal of the curse seal, I inadvertently set that up back in the early chapters when I established the way the Yondaime's seal protected Naruto from the Kyuubi influencing his mind.

It also set up getting the damn teme near enough and vulnerable enough for Lachesis to take a bite out of the man, and ultimately leads to Orochimaru figuring out that Naruto somehow stumbled upon (read: got injected by) his little boobytrap. When Orochimaru figures that out he tries to exert his control he had expected to have on the boy. That leads to some interesting scenes.

Hehe, yup. But unlike her son she didn't get any undergarments.

No rush man. Just give me an email (it should be in my profile) and I'll give you some more detailed descriptions of the weapons.

Jaa for now.

-Zaion the Currently-Indisposed-by-Chinese-Food

Moonfal – Thanks. Hopefully you get a laugh out of the catfight in this chapter.

-ZI the Effervescent.

PS: Yeah…not really sure what I just called myself there. Haha.

Kyuubiwolf23 – Sorry, Naruto's fight is going to be in the next chapter. And why would I have him fight Gaara now? I don't want him KILLING EVERYBODY…well…not yet at any rate…*looks around shiftily*

Jaa.

-ZI

Bobboky – Thanks.

DustBunnyQueen – If I ever get around to writing it, absolutely.

Lee-Aeront – Why thank you. If I can provide inspiration to get others back to writing then I have succeeded in my goals. And I think I sent you a pm already, but I'll repeat some stuff here. The basic idea for the familiars is to really develop your ideas as to what they are, what they can do, how they act, etc. I developed a complex backstory that ultimately explains summon animals, familiars, and tailed-ones in my story.

Bandgsecurtiyaw – Thank you.

NorthernLights25 – Thank you as well.

Darthdrew1704 – Why thank you darth. I appreciate you saying so.

Shanedude – I shall respond to each of your reviews in the order they were received. Thanks for reviewing most of the chapters as you read my story.

-Thanks.

-He didn't kill the clan because the proof that an Uchiha had attacked Naruto caused the clan to put their plans on hold as they were already under suspicion. Thus, when Itachi was found out to be a spy for the Hokage, he was forced to kill his cousin and was then assigned a deep cover assignment to get him to safety. The Sandaime's thanks for the Uchiha's loyalty right there. Also, they are twelve, going on thirteen, and I knew people in high school who were outright fucking at age twelve. So no, in a society where they are viewed as adults and with the sort of the life spans they are expected to have, I honestly don't think twelve is a bit young for them for kissing and being romantic.

-She does lose some of her hair in this chapter, unfortunately, but do not worry. In the long run it does grow back nice and long again. And here, unfortunately, as I wrote the scene, I realized that such a blast would take out a lot of her hair, so I had to do what I could to justify minimizing the damage while still having the attack work properly.

-Thanks.

-Thanks. I honestly thought that that would be a great use for the vision, and I had intended to use that fight to display just what sort of uses he could put it to in an actual combat situation.

-Yes, it was. I was trying to get a laugh, and to indicate that Naruto hasn't completely changed from his original self.

-No, Orochimaru captured an Uchiha, an older one who had awakened his Sharingan.

-Thank you.

Darkmanu – Well, I'm hoping that you will enjoy this chapter. I worked hard on it, and the next chapter is the one currently on my work list before I continue on with my normal cycling.

I.E.T.S. – And who said he was after a new body, hmm? *chuckles* And don't worry, as I am currently beta'ing it, as you well know. Again, I would like to thank you for your excellent work as a beta on the story.

Buzzbumble – Naw, Orochi-teme is pretty much recovered by the finals of the exams. He just needed some medical help to fight off the venom was all.

King Hawke – Thank you very much. Hehe, Gaara will be quite interesting indeed, but Kabuto alas will be allowed to spy to his little black heart's content, as the Hokage is hoping that he might be able to be fed false information to lead Orochimaru into a trap. Gaara though, I have big plans for him, yes, I do indeed.

Chloe0921 – Hmm, does that mean as short or does that mean you usually only read one-shots? Either way, I appreciate the fact that you are giving my story a chance. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was a bit shorter than usual.

narutoFMA-LOVER – This Naruto has, among other things, met Ibiki, and been trained by his mother in a number of interrogation tactics and techniques. It was almost blatantly obvious to him what the real purpose of the exam was. And yes, I agree, those are very annoying. The correct term for that btw is a 'Gary Stu". I'm merely trying to put Naruto where I would expect him to be after being trained properly as a youngster. Though some of his power is thanks to Orochi-teme's ill-advised 'booby-trap'.

IdeyaDreamer – Thank you.

AlphaDelta1001 – I think I may have sent you a pm already, but not sure. Anyways, Naruto and Sasuke both have their strengths, though Naruto has a bit more of an advantage on some aspects because of his partner and his prisoner. Sakura is still overall weaker, though obviously that is changing a little bit. And yes, Sasuke definitely has a thing for Temari. I'm so mean to the poor boy in my other fic's that I decided to get him properly and happily laid before this one is over.

Blazevoir – Hehe, why thank you. Prankster Sakura I decided was acceptable even by canon thanks to her inner Sakura responses to some of Naruto's pranks. And I specifically set up events to ensure that Sakura's attention was grabbed by Naruto before Sasuke ever entered the picture.

Hehe, I think so too. Thus the story. That and the character of Lachesis just wouldn't leave my mind.

I honestly felt that the cage was just a metaphor for the seal. In this story, the cage is represented by the collar on the Kyuubi, while the golden glow around Naruto is the seal's way of protecting his mind against foreign influences.

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Lioness 10784 – Whether Sasuke has any fun with Kin or not is still to be seen. If he has any fun with her, I'm telling you now that Temari will still be his as well.

I-Eat-My-Vegetables – Hehe, like the bloody catfight I inserted into this chapter? And I'm really only following canon because I feel this is what would have happened, and I also know that soon events will cause it to change from canon. Here's a hint: The Uchiha Clan still being alive will drastically alter events during and after the Finals of the Chunin Exams.

Aikori Shukrai – Lachesis is an amalgamation of a number of extremely deadly snake species. I really don't think she would be SAFE to have in real life. Haha.

Nequam-tenshi – As I think I said in a pm, it hasn't been half a year. The story was last updated back in December, and I am putting up now the next chapter, as I have finally completed it and received it back from my beta.

Imgonnadie – Thanks.

Shadow of a Life – Well, I can point you to some stories that are even better imho, including those writers who's works inspired me to actually begin writing my own projects. Whether Naruto will actually be trained by Jiraiya, I'm still thinking on. Whether he is or isn't, I guarantee you he will have some tricks up his sleeves for the finals.


	12. Chapter 12: A Father's Will

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I'd be a rich bastard with millions of fans.

* * *

**Warning: This chapter contains some sadistic outright murders as well as some limited sexual content and intimations. A clean copy can be provided via email upon request, or you can simply skip Ino Yamanaka's fight scene.**

* * *

Chapter 12: A Father's Will

* * *

**Last Time, on Konoha's Golden Viper...**

"Well, looks like it's me against one of your mom's students, Naruto." Sasuke said from their side, drawing the couple's attention away from each other.

Naruto and Sakura looked up at the board to see who was to compete next.

Uchiha Sasuke

Vs

Akamichi Chouji

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure and virtual grandfather to Konoha's number one social pariah, was in shock.

On the arena floor below Haruno Sakura, a pink-haired girl from the unremarkable Haruno clan who's only real defining feature was that she was the girlfriend (and some would believe lover) of one Namikaze Naruto, had just managed to defend against a C-rank Katon technique by using some sort of blue fire. On top of that, she had somehow managed to summon a small blue and red fox with three tails that appeared to have been the source of the fire that blocked the blast.

In the world of shinobi this would normally have just been an interesting development, a shinobi unveiling their new techniques to their opponents in order to gain an advantage. The problems Hiruzen could already imagine having with the Council derived directly from the fact that the poor girl had somehow managed to summon a fox; not only a fox, but one clearly not normal in nature, as given by the three blue tipped tails currently slashing through the air above its head.

As Sakura proceeded to, without using hand seals form balls of fire around her kunai before launching the attacks, his eyes widened further.

_When did she learn what her elemental affinity was? Much less how to manifest elemental chakra without using hand seals?_

This was most troubling indeed. The old man was going to have to have a serious talk with Anko, Naruto, and Sakura after the preliminaries, as given the current developments they might _all_ be in very real danger.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke and Akamichi Chouji faced off on the arena floor. Chouji had a determined look on his face, while Sasuke had put up a cold mask. The latter also had a large black and gold snake wrapped around his body, the head resting on the back of his wrist.

"I warn you, Chouji. I'm not going to take it easy on you just because you are a fellow Konoha-nin." Sasuke said as he went into a stance that no one but his teammates, sensei, and Anko recognized. His left arm was held forward in an open hand guard position and his right arm was chambered at his side, the snake staring intently at Chouji.

"Whatever Sasuke, I'm only fighting because I want STEAK!!!!" Chouji replied, causing most of those gathered to sweat drop.

Sasuke snorted.

"With a focus like that you'll never become a true shinobi, fatso." Sasuke said, smirking to him self as Chouji took the bait.

The Uchiha heir had remembered quite well how angry Chouji used to get whenever anyone insulted his size, particularly when they called him fatso, and he had been counting on Chouji still having the same sensitivity. Sure enough, his tactic worked.

"YOU!!! I'm not fat, I'm just big boned!! I'll tear you apart!!!" Chouji screamed, his face scrunching up in anger as Hayate motioned for the match to begin.

The moment the Jounin leapt away Chouji brought his arms together and performed the Baika no Jutsu, increasing his size until he was a massive sphere of human several times his previous mass. Sasuke smirked and reacted before Chouji could begin his next technique.

"Strike!" Sasuke yelled out as he slid his right leg forward, punching towards Chouji with his right arm.

The snake that had been coiled around it hissed and then leapt forward, using the momentum from the punch to launch itself across the gap. The snake flew true and impacted with Chouji, biting into the flesh of his still exposed arm before dissolving in a puff of smoke. Sasuke stepped into a lackadaisical stance, both to indicate his belief that the match was now won, and to taunt his opponent.

"Well, I doubt you'll get the chance to tear me apart, Chouji. Already venom is pulsing through your veins that will render you incapable of movement within a matter of minutes. All I have to do is avoid you until you collapse and I've won." Sasuke said as he turned and walked towards the nearest wall, his hands in his pockets. "But if you forfeit now, I'll administer the antidote and you won't have to suffer the pain."

Chouji shuddered, still too enraged to think reasonably. He wanted to show Sasuke that he wasn't a fatty.

"Nikudan Sensha!" He yelled out as he pulled his limbs and head into his body and became a rolling ball of human death.

Sasuke smirked and began running up the wall towards the ceiling.

_Now, let's see if Chouji has improved under Anko's instruction._

The Uchiha heir heard a boom as Chouji collided with the wall behind him and he slid to the side, activating his Sharingan as he spun. Suddenly the world around him seemed to slow down as the rolling mass of Chouji came into view, his rotation slowed down immensely by the power of the Sharingan.

"Nice try." Sasuke taunted as he slid backward along the wall, propelled by chakra ejected from his feet.

Chouji's only response was to attempt to turn as he approached the ceiling to come back down towards him. Sasuke smirked and side-stepped again, back the other way.

_This is too easy, but unless I want to seriously injure Chouji and reveal too much about my abilities then I need to do this._ Sigh. _Why does this have to be so troublesome?_

Sasuke nearly tripped as he dodged Chouji's next ascending strike as he realized that he had somehow channeled his inner Shikamaru. Sasuke felt like he needed a hot shower to cleanse the Shika from his system.

The match continued this way for another two minutes before Chouji suddenly lost control and spun out, colliding with the far wall and collapsing. When the dust settled he was revealed with spirals in his eyes before he collapsed into unconsciousness. Sasuke hopped lightly to the ground and dusted him self off as the medic-nins rushed to Chouji's side. Confidently he strode forward as Hayate declared him the winner, ignoring the cheers from his teammates and the only one of his fan girls currently present.

"That's close enough, Uchiha." Shikamaru muttered as he appeared at his best friend's side in worry.

Sasuke smirked and held out his hand, a syringe sitting in the center of his palm.

"It's a targeted toxin, designed to interfere with the signals between the brain and the voluntary muscles only. He is in no danger, and should recover full motor function within a few minutes of administering the antidote." Sasuke said with an apologetic smile on his face. "I needed to win, and I didn't want to have to hurt one of my old classmates too much, so I chose to use this option."

Shikamaru still glared at Sasuke, but he took the syringe gladly and handed it to the nearest medic-nin to administer to Chouji. When he turned back Sasuke was already walking up the stairs to where his two teammates had rushed him and embraced him in a hug in celebration. The shadow wielder snorted and muttered 'troublesome' as he turned back to help the medic-nins carry his teammate off of the arena floor.

In the stands above, Sarutobi Asuma had a grin on his face as his three students walked back up the steps and took their chosen spot leaning against the wall beside him.

"Good job, both of you." He said, addressing both Sakura and Sasuke. "Now you just need to win your match Naruto and the three of you will all be in the finals together."

Sasuke and Sakura smirked and looked across the room at the Suna team, who only had one person who had successfully made it into the finals out of the two who had fought so far.

"So Sensei, where were you?" Naruto asked with a thoughtful look on his face.

Asuma smirked before he replied. "Never could get anything past you, could I kiddo? No, I can't explain here, but let's just say I was giving an addendum to your 'report' on the incident with Orochimaru to Ibiki."

Naruto chuckled and turned back to face the arena, looking up at the board to see who would be fighting next. He didn't have long to wait, as the next fight finally appeared on the board.

Sabaku no Gaara

Vs

Misumi Tsurugi

Naruto smirked.

_Great, I get to see Shukaku fight, and I can hopefully find out some more information about what that bastard's relationship to Orochimaru is. He was on the same team as Kabuto, and I'm certain now that Kabuto is a spy. The scent of the snake was stronger on him after the exam than it was during the first part._

On the other side of the room Gaara's eyes narrowed and he smiled slightly. Mother was calling for blood, and finally he had an opportunity to give it to her.

Gaara vanished from his balcony suddenly and reappeared on the arena floor in a swirl of sand, his arms crossed in front of him as his Konoha opponent walked down the steps calmly. As the pair stood across from one another, glaring straight into each other's eyes, Misumi spoke up.

"I will tell you right now, once I put my techniques on you its over. Give up immediately."

Gaara merely narrowed his eyes slightly.

_**Blood! Give me his blood!!**_

Gaara clutched his head in his hands as the voice of 'Mother' suddenly became darker for a brief moment. Misumi saw this, and as Hayate declared the match begun he rushed forward and lashed out towards Gaara with a punch. The smirk of superiority he wore behind his mask was suddenly cut off as a stream of sand suddenly burst forth from the gourd on Gaara's back, spinning around the red-haired boy to block Misumi's attack before rushing straight at him.

"What the-?!" Misumi exclaimed, so surprised he failed to leap back in time.

Within moments he found himself completely immobilized by the sand, only his head visible. Gaara held out his hand towards Misumi, palm open and held down.

"Mother demands your blood." He said in his dark monotone. "Sabaku Kyuu."

The sand surrounding Misumi slid further up, completely enclosing the Konoha shinobi within a thick, airtight shell of sand. In the stands above everyone watched in horror at what was happening. Everyone except for Namikaze Naruto, who's eyes were narrowed and was now currently within his mindscape, observing the fight via a floating screen in the middle of the wild night-lit jungle along with his two allies, Lachesis Muta the Midnight Viper, and Kyuubi no Kitsune, greatest of the Bijuu and ruler of the fox demons.

* * *

_This is getting interesting._

_**I agree, Kit. Shukaku is clearly influencing the boy. I think that for both his safety and that of your mate and friend that we should find a method to…disable his influence upon the child.**_

Lachesis said nothing, merely hissing slightly as she watched how the sand moved, analyzing it for any weakness.

* * *

"So I will give it to her." Gaara continued, clenching his fist tightly. "Sabaku Sousou."

These last two words were spoken in a darker tone, and suddenly the sand coffin surrounding Misumi contracted. The pressure was so great that blood shot out everywhere from the sand in great jets as the body of Misumi Tsurugi was crushed to death. Gaara showed only a faint, almost demonic smile on his face as the sand flowed away from the mangled and unrecognizable corpse, slithering around the arena floor absorbing the blood that had squirted free of the prison before finally flowing back into the gourd on his back. As Hayate reluctantly and warily declared Gaara the winner the red-hared Suna shinobi stuck the cork back in his gourd and then looked up towards the balcony where Naruto was standing.

_You…will you be the one who validates my existence? You, who knows what I carry within me?_

Gaara and Naruto's eyes met for a long second before the sand–wielder vanished in a flurry of sand, reappearing on the balcony next to his teammates and siblings, both of who looked extremely worried as they had caught the look shared between Gaara and Naruto. It did not bode well for them if their brother lost control here.

As everyone watched the medic-nins dejectedly carry the destroyed corpse of Misumi Tsurugi from the room Naruto shared a sharp look with his teammates before the trio nodded. They both understood his unspoken words.

Be careful of Gaara.

A soft beeping sound alerted the trio to the next match being displayed on the board, so they all turned to take a look. Naruto chuckled at the names that appeared next.

Aburame Shino

Vs

Rock Lee

"YOSH!!!!" Lee exclaimed from his position next to his teammates and his sensei. The Gai clone was practically brimming with excitement as Gai patted him on the back.

"Yes! Go forth my youthful student, and show them how the flames of youth burn brightly within you!!"

"Yosh Gai-sensei!!" Lee exclaimed before grabbing the railing and leaping over, landing across from where the emotionless and much more sedate Aburame Shino had walked down and stopped.

In the stands above Naruto walked forward and leant against the railing, surprising his two teammates who stepped forward to join him, questioning looks on their faces.

"Maito Gai is a taijutsu expert, and from everything I've heard Rock Lee is his prized student. Sasuke, if ever there was a time for you to learn a thing or two using that Sharingan of yours, this is it. Jutsus can be interrupted, and are rendered useless when your chakra is depleted. Genjutsu are easily broken by shinobi of any real skill and will power. But Taijutsu…" Naruto smiled. "That is eternal."

Sasuke just blinked and shrugged before turning to face the match, thankful that his own match was over so he didn't have to worry about conserving his chakra. Silently he activated his Sharingan, watching as the proctor began the match.

Neither combatant moved at first, both remaining absolutely still and regarding one another in silence. Or at least, that's what it would have looked like to anyone untrained in the shinobi arts. The truth was in fact quite different.

Shino was in fact abuzz (quite literally) with activity. Throughout his body his kikai bugs were receiving signals from him sent through various pheromones and electric signals, and that odd kind of chakra telepathy that the Aburame clan has with their bugs. They were gearing up for a fight, receiving their host's continually changing analysis of their soon-to-be target.

Lee on the other hand was literally vibrating with excitement. He was pitted against a strong shinobi who had been able to make it to the preliminaries despite being a rookie, and that just energized him even more. In fact, Lee was vibrating so fast that his movements were undetectable, even by the Sharingan. But if you were to attempt to place a hand on the bowl-cut boy's shoulder you would have found your hand violently flung away by the movement of his body.

Suddenly, without any warning or words of challenge, the match truly began.

Rock Lee sped forward, lashing out with a round house kick aimed at Shino's head. The Aburame boy remained still until the last second, his hands hidden inside the long sleeves of his coat. Rock Lee's foot connected, and for a brief moment there were gasps of surprise from the audience as everyone thought that Lee had actually managed to hit his opponent. In the balconies above Tenten was cheering him on while both Naruto and Sasuke narrowed their eyes.

This wasn't over yet.

Sure enough, as Shino began to fall to the side the illusion suddenly collapsed and a swarm of bugs collapsed towards Lee. The Shino standing before him had in fact been a kikai bunshin, or at least had been replaced with one mere milliseconds before Lee's high-speed kick had connected. Lee leaped as quickly as he could, avoiding the bulk of the bugs, but some still scurried along his legs, heading for the sweet spot between his shoulder blades where they would be much harder to dislodge. Not sensing any danger from the small number of bugs Lee shrugged his shoulders and spun around, quickly sighting in on his opponent.

"Yosh!! You clearly burn with the fires of youth, for you are clearly taking this fight seriously!! Let us show the others how bright our flames burn!!"

Lee rushed his opponent again, lashing out with a quick one two punch that Shino barely managed to dodge before lashing out with a thrust kick. Rather than dodge the kick, Shino caught Lee's legs in his hands, slowing the kick down. Lee smiled in triumph as his foot connected with his foe's chest despite Shino's attempt to stop it.

FWOOSH

Lee's smile vanished as he was once again facing a swarm of bugs, this time one that already held him tight as they collapsed upon him. Within seconds the green-clad boy was completely covered by a cloud of bugs that were attempting to suck his chakra. Everyone watched with baited breath as several long seconds passed before the bugs finally flowed across the room to where a third Shino had appeared and slid inside his coat, presumably to return to their hive within his body.

Calmly and without showing any emotion at all Shino walked over to his downed opponent, his arms clasped in his long coat sleeves.

"My kikai bugs have drained you of most of your chakra. You are defeated. If you proceed to fight you will only drain the last of your chakra and kill yourself." The Aburame boy stated calmly.

His statement was comprised of no arrogance or sense of superiority, but merely cold hard fact. As an Aburame, Shino relied on and valued logic above all else. The facts as he knew them were simple; when a shinobi or a civilian was drained of all chakra they would cease to live; Rock Lee was nearly exhausted of his chakra; if Rock Lee continued to fight he would burn up the last tiny bit he had remaining. Ergo, if he continued fighting he would in fact die.

Too bad for Shino no one ever told him precisely WHY Rock Lee was a taijutsu specialist.

"Hah!!" Lee said as he stumbled to his feet, appearing shaky for a few moments. "That does not matter to me, for I do not use chakra. I am not a genius, gifted with special abilities by my blood. I am a genius of hard work!!! Yosh!!"

Lee stood up and pumped his fists at his side before leaping towards the statute in the room, dodging a sudden swarm of kikai bugs that Shino had sent at his opponent. After all, Shino valued logic, and logic now dictate he take this opponent down before he could reveal whatever he seemed to believe would allow him to win.

"Sensei!! I am going to remove _those_ now!!" Lee said energetically as he…sat down?

"Yosh!! Show them the fires of youth burn brightly in you!!!!" Gai called back from his spot on the balcony, his eyes alight with flame.

Everyone in the balconies watched in surprise and confusion as the mini-Gai clone proceeded to unhook and remove two large chains of weights with seals inscribed on them that had been hidden under his bright orange fuzzy leg warmers. With another cry of 'Yosh!!' Lee stood and held the weights out to the side.

"Now I shall demonstrate to you why Gai-sensei calls me Konoha's Green Beast!!"

Before anyone could react Lee spun rapidly in place before sending the weights flying towards Shino. The Aburame boy easily sidestepped the swiftly moving projectiles, only to blanch behind his sunglasses and high-collared coat as the sound from behind him informed him that something was terribly wrong. Turning in surprise he was greeted with the sight of a pair of twin trenches dug into the floor of the arena. Both trenches were approximately six feet wide at their widest point and ran for over thirty feet before they collided with the wall. Said wall currently had a large gaping hole in it, and Shino could see the Chunin on the other side of the gap who were all staring in shock and awe at the makeshift projectiles.

Almost too late Shino spun back around, barely dodging by an extreme amount of luck a thrust kick that Lee had aimed at his head. Even as it was the edge of Lee's sandals caught Shino's glasses, the sheer force of its passing shattering the lenses.

"You must keep your eyes on your opponent, my youthful opponent!!" Lee yelled before he spun away and landed in a fighting stance once again. "Now, let us unveil the true fires of our youth in one last climactic collision!!"

He would deny it to his dying day, but as the green clad boy before him suddenly blurred and vanished, Shino had a thought that was very, very, VERY out of character for him.

_How troublesome._

The last thing Shino would remember upon waking in the infirmary twenty minutes later was the sight of Rock Lee's calloused and bandaged fist suddenly appearing directly in front of his nose.

* * *

"Ooh, that had to hurt." Naruto said with a chuckle as he watched Rock Lee take Shino down with a series of high speed blows. The blond boy was fairly certain that Shino had been unconscious after the first punch, but you never could tell with shinobi.

"Man, I couldn't even keep up with his movements." Sasuke muttered as he rubbed his eyes. When he removed his hands his eyes were back to their normal black. "I mean, geez, what the hell is he, the freaking energizer bunny? Shino sucked almost all of his chakra, and yet he STILL kept coming."

Naruto chuckled and wrapped Sakura in another hug, planting a quick kiss on her lips.

"I told you, Sasuke. Taijutsu is eternal." Naruto said, a large smile gathering on his face as the next match up appeared on the board. "And it looks like I finally get my chance. Tell me, how should we deal with the last of the snaky traitors today, hmm? An incineration? A beatdown? Or maybe just a good old fassshioned poisssoning?"

Naruto said this last part with a faint hiss to his voice as his tongue flicked out, becoming forked and pointed for a moment before returning to his mouth. Beside him Sasuke outright laughed and Sakura just giggled.

"Why don't you just do whatever makes you happy?" Sakura said as she leant against him and wriggled her body suggestively against him. "I'll give you a big reward after the preliminaries if you make sure he dies in agony though."

Next to the couple Hakumei yipped and Sasuke could have sworn the fox was blushing.

Sakura winked at her boyfriend before kissing him lightly on the lips, pulling back as Naruto began to respond and winked teasingly at him as she skipped away from him.

Naruto chuckled and turned back towards the arena floor, where his opponent was already waiting and glaring up at him. Naruto grinned and flipped him the bird before vanishing in a swirl of wind and leaves, reappearing a moment later on the floor before in with his arms crossed before him and a confident smirk on his face.

"Come on Naruto-kun, knock him dead!!" Sakura yelled from above, leaning over the railing. Further down the balcony Hinata mumbled faint encouragement, all the while beginning to realize that she could never compete with the pink-haired kunoichi for Naruto's affections. She just wasn't good enough for the blond boy.

Naruto chuckled and shot his girlfriend a smile back over his shoulder.

"Don't worry baby, I'll make sure to knock him _real_ dead, just for you."

He blew her a kiss and then turned back to his opponent, his grin much darker.

"Well, shall we get on with this?" He said with dark humor in his eyes. "Or shall I just kill you where you stand?"

As his opponent glared at him Naruto chuckled and glanced up at the board one last time, unbelievably pleased that he got to fight one of the few shinobi in the room he could kill without feeling any moral qualms about it. On the board above the room, displayed for all to see as Hayate began the watch, were two names. Just two. That was all it took to turn Naruto from a loving boyfriend into the killer he had trained to become.

Namikaze Naruto

Vs

Akadou Yoroi.

As the match began Naruto formed a cross-shaped seal and suddenly filled the room behind him with Kage bunshin.

"Delta Three, Initiate." He said calmly and all of the clones dispersed around the room, each one taking a spot along a wall and crossing their arms as they stood with their backs to it; all except the four who ran up the walls and hung from the ceiling at the four corners.

Naruto's grin widened as he slid back into the ready stance for his Hebi style.

"Well, bastard, are you going to attack or am I going to have to beat you until you fight back?" Naruto said darkly, quiet enough that only he and his opponent could hear.

Akadou glowered at him and performed a hand seal, causing his hands to glow blue. He then drew some shuriken from his pack and launched them at Naruto. The blond boy merely smirked and remained standing right where he was. Rather than dodging, he suddenly reached out with both arms, striking rapidly. Within seconds he had plucked all four shuriken from the air and had launched them right back at his opponent, causing the older genin to dive forward under the shuriken into a roll before attempting to rush him.

"Come now, is this the best you've got?" Naruto asked as he practically danced away from Yoroi's attacks.

As one of Yoroi's strikes passed close to his head Naruto felt a strange draining sensation; his eyes widened in surprise.

wid his eyange draining snesation Naruto oroi' roll before attempting to rush back at his opponent, causing the older _He's draining my chakra with those attacks!!_ Naruto realized in surprise.

The blond boy back flipped away and came up in a guard stance, blocking both of Yoroi's arms and launching a counterattack with his foot, knocking the older genin away.

"No, no, no." Naruto mock scolded his opponent. "There will be no touching during this fight."

Akadou chuckled as he coughed up a little blood.

"So, you figured it out did you?" He said with a laugh. "This is the power of my bloodline, the ability to drain the chakra out of my opponents by touch alone. It is why someone like you, who relies on taijutsu and direct confrontation, could never defeat me."

Naruto smirked and crossed his arms, closing his eyes for a moment as he created a false sense of vulnerability.

"And who, might I ask, told you that? Was it your team leader, Kabuto Yakushi? Or perhaps it was _that man_, the one whose stench I can smell all over you."

Yoroi's eyes widened in fear and surprise at Naruto's intimation before rushing forward, lashing out with a strike towards Naruto's head to take advantage of the momentary hole in his guard. Yoroi was so worried about being found out as a spy that he forgot rule one of being a shinobi-

"Hah, now that I've got a hold of you, I will drain all of your chakra until you are dead. There is no way you can break free of this hold, and I will make sure that anything you know dies with you." Yoroi whispered harshly as he pinned Naruto face first to the ground, his glowing blue hand held firmly against the boy's head draining his chakra.

"Hmph. You are wrong, you teme, for it is _you_ who will die this day." Naruto replied in a cold voice. It was unfortunate for Akadou that he could not see Naruto's eyes turn slitted and green. "Lachesis, Strike."

-that deception is a ninja's lifeblood.

Akadou's eyes widened in surprise as a large gold and black snake suddenly shot forth from under Naruto's coat and sank it's fangs into his wrist. The glow around his hand faltered for a moment before going out completely. Within moments the poor unfortunate genin had collapsed onto the ground on his side, allowing his former victim the freedom to stand at a leisurely pace and dust him self off. Yoroi barely managed to pull him self into a kneeling position as the world around him began to spin and whirl, darkness encroaching at the edge of his vision.

With Lachesis now curled around his body, her head hovering in the air beside his head and hissing as she stared at the fallen shinobi, Naruto walked over and bent down next to the now kneeling man until their heads were side by side.

"I'll let you in on a little secret that you can take to your grave." He whispered coldly. "When I'm done with all you little ickle spies, I'm coming for your master. For what he did to Konoha, for what he did to my mother, and for what he tried to do to me."

Naruto punctuated this last statement with a faint hiss and pulled the collar of his coat out slightly, revealing a spot on his neck that was a flat expanse of silver scar tissue. It had healed over, but it was clear that it was taking far longer to completely heal than his other wounds had. On the outer layer of the scar were the faint remains of three black tomoe.

"Here's a little gift, to take to your grave with you." Naruto muttered, reaching up with a kunai and swiftly slicing off the last remainder of Orochimaru's attempt to infect him with his Cursed Seal of Heaven.

Naruto shoved the flap of scar tissue into an unresisting Yoroi's mouth before standing and walking away, the wound on his neck finally beginning to heal properly. He didn't even turn around when Yoroi finally coughed up a spew of blood and collapsed. His eyes were wide and cold as death took him. The only sign that he had even registered the poor unfortunate soul's death was that all of his clones around the room immediately dispelled themselves in a massive puff of smoke that took several seconds to clear. As soon as everyone could see again Naruto had appeared on the Konoha balcony once again, approaching the spot where Asuma stood with his two teammates.

As Naruto rejoined his teammates Sakura snuggled up under his arm and pet Lachesis lightly, cooing things about "Who's a good little agent of death?" to the black and gold serpent. Sasuke on the other hand leant against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest, shaking his had ruefully.

"I swear Naruto, you couldn't have been any more of a drama queen?" He muttered with a laugh.

Naruto just grinned and looked back at him over his shoulder.

"Hey, I wanted to send a message without actually revealing any of my trump cards, and I think I did so pretty effectively, don't you think?" He said as he reached up with his free hand and rubbed the spot on his neck that was now nearly healed.

Sasuke snorted as he realized that the reason Naruto's other hand was not free as well was that it was currently inside of Sakura's coat, most likely grabbing her ass through the thin material of the tight black miniskirt she was wearing. To distract him self from his teammates' very public and not exactly illegal (by Konoha standards anyways) activities, he turned back to look across the room at the other balcony, his gaze sliding over the other foreign shinobi until it settled on Temari.

Despite the fact that she had lost her match Sasuke still had to admit that she was pretty strong. He could practically see the potential radiating off her. The only reason she had lost was that her opponent had used her arrogance against her and played a trick on her.

Silently Sasuke began to admire her curves and limbs, beginning to imagine just what she looked like _without_ that pale outfit she was wearing on. A faint line of blood began to run down from his nose as he also began to wonder about what sort of fun he might get up to if he could get the attentions of such a woman, both on and off the battlefield.

Sasuke was still unaware of his blood loss as the final two names appeared on the board. Not that anyone had any doubt as to who the match would be between, as there were only two combatants remaining.

Uchiha Kazumi

Vs

Yamanaka Ino

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Warning: Use Control+F to skip to the phrase "Warning Over" if you have issues with content of a sexual nature.**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The two girls shared a hard edged smile as they walked calmly down the stairs together to take their places on the floor below. They both took ready stances and stared hard at one another as Hayate explained the rules for one final time. Kazumi was busy analyzing her opponent and attempting to determine her weaknesses, as she did not have much data on her personal abilities; in other words, the Uchiha girl had no clue just how much of her Clan's techniques Ino had been able to master. Ino on the other hand was focusing her entire being on this fight, hoping beyond hope that if she could prove her self to be a strong and competent kunoichi that she might finally win her beloved Sasuke's affections.

As Hayate prepared to finally start the match Ino caught sight of Sasuke's eyes and the faint stream of blood trickling from his nose. Turning her head slightly she looked to where he was looking and saw that his gaze was focused on that blond girl from Suna. Ino snapped her head back to face her opponent as Hayate dropped his hand and growled.

_I'll make him see that I'm worthy of being his wife._

"Begin!!" Hayate exclaimed as his hand cut through the air between the two combatants before leaping away to safety.

Neither girl moved for a few moments, both continuing to analyze their opponent, waiting for them to make the first move. Finally Kazumi smirked and slid one step to the side, spinning as she did so. Ino braced her self to counter an attack, her attention distracted by Kazumi's foot and her spinning, not noticing the shifts in her shoulders as the dark-haired girl performed a series of hand seals silently while her back was turned to Ino, muttering the name silently under her breath.

"Magen: Akumu."

Ino blinked as her opponent suddenly vanished from where she had been spinning, replaced by a log. As the blond girl frantically looked around for her opponent she failed to realize that Kazumi had not simply used Kawarimi to disappear, but rather had ensnared Ino within a genjutsu that would use her own strength of will to form its chains. After a few moments Ino heard a repetitive moaning sound accompanied by a wet slurping sound coming from above. She glanced up at the foreign balcony and blanched at the sight that greeted her there.

The foreign Suna kunoichi, Temari, was currently bent over and leaning up against the railing of one of the balconies, her shirt open and her ample C-cup breasts bouncing in time with her body as the dark-haired figure behind her slid forward and backward, thrusting his long penis inside the blond girl's body, the junction of which was thankfully just barely obscured from view by Temari's skirt. Ino nearly broke down crying as she realized that the figure behind Temari was her beloved Sasuke, and the fact that the man she loved was fucking another girl rather than watching her fight nearly broke her spirit.

Then something that Kazumi had not counted on when she used the technique occurred. While the Uchiha had known that the technique would trap her target in her worst nightmare, the Uchiha had failed to take into account just what that would be, much less what Ino's reaction to it would be.

"RAWR!!! THAT BASTARD!!! I'LL KILL HIM!!!!" Ino screamed, shocking everyone in the room, including the dark-haired girl who had been approaching, quite unfortunately from the direction that Ino was now 'witnessing' 'Sasuke' fucking 'Temari.'

The dark-haired girl squeaked in surprise at the sudden killing intent that had come off of Ino. It wasn't a loud squeak, but it was enough to breach her genjutsu and alert Ino finally that something was wrong. Before Kazumi could react Ino flashed through a series of hand seals, but nothing appeared to happen.

Then suddenly Ino slumped to the floor, causing Kazumi to smirk. Her smirk promptly vanished as her face suddenly went slack for a few moments before finally turning into a smile. 'Kazumi' looked up and around the room, smiling as she saw that Temari was in fact fully clothed and Sasuke was nowhere near her. In fact, the dark-haired boy was watching her match with a contemplative smile on his face.

_Yes, Sasuke-kun was watching. Now let's prove to him how good I am by making this bitch lose without laying a finger on her._

To the surprise of most of the gathered shinobi Kazumi, rather than pressing the clear advantage she had on her collapsed opponent, instead raised one hand in the air.

"Examiner, I forfeit the match."

Everyone in the balconies who was not aware of the Yamanaka Clan's special techniques blinked and then face-faulted in surprise. Kazumi merely remained smiling with her arm raised into the air until Hayate coughed and confirmed Ino as the winner. As soon as he did and the Hokage acknowledged that the preliminaries were now over Kazumi slumped over and Ino opened her eyes and shakily stood to her feet. As she walked towards the stairs with a big smile on her face Kazumi blinked and then noticed she was kneeling on the ground.

"Wait, what the hell just happened?!?! HEY!! Why are you walking away!?!?!"

"Um, Kazumi-san…" Hinata said softly as she stepped up and put a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "You lost."

Kazumi blinked before crying out again.

"What? What the hell do you mean I lost?!! I demand a rematch!!! You hear me Ino, get back here!!!"

As Hinata and Kiba restrained their overly-exuberant teammate from following after Ino the blond girl proudly strode up the steps and past Sasuke, winking at the dark-haired boy and flipping her ponytail over her shoulder as she walked past.

Sasuke blinked and sneezed, then looked from her to Temari and back to her again.

_Ok, so she has some skills, but she's still just an annoying fan girl._ The Uchiha heir begrudgingly admitted.

Sasuke glanced back over at where Temari was currently following her brothers down the steps and out of the room as the Hokage had dismissed them all to gather their gear so that they could be escorted back to Konoha proper.

_Then again, Temari has a much better ass_.

Sasuke's nose began to bleed again slightly, but he merely wiped it with the back of his hand as he turned to follow his own team and sensei out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Warning Over**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"I'm very proud of you three." Asuma said as he led his students down a corridor in the tower towards the rooms that had been assigned to them. "This was your first Chunin exam, and all three of you made it into the finals."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all beamed while Hakumei padded happily along next to her pink-haired summoner. The fox had not spoken since she materialized in the real world, but Sakura was fairly certain that she could. Hakumei just didn't want to reveal any tricks to possible enemies, which according to her was apparently anyone not in Sakura's immediate circle.

To Hakumei, this meant four people. The blond snake-smelling boy she was fucking, the dark-haired teammate who was with them, the smoking man who appeared to be their leader or teacher, and the creepy snake-smelling woman who was apparently the blond boy's mother.

"So, what are you three going to do now that you have a month to train for the exams?"

Naruto and Sakura both looked at one another and chuckled, causing Sasuke and Asuma to blush in realization at what they were planning. Thankfully the couple's perverted little minds focused back to more serious matters within seconds, and as they turned back to face their teammates their faces were masks of seriousness.

"Well, Sakura here needs to train in the use of her new powers and in working with her partner. I'm fairly certain I can get Hana Inuzuka to help her with that aspect. Kiba's sister always seemed to have a soft spot for me when I would help out around the kennels when I was younger." Naruto began, ticking things off on his fingers. "I was planning to just work on refining how I fight with both my snakes and my new weapons, and maybe if you would be willing to spare some time learn a few techniques from you. I'm fairly certain that my elemental affinity is dual wind and fire, like your own, so I figure that you would be the best one to help me with that."

Naruto looked to Sasuke who got the hint and picked up where Naruto left off.

"I'm sure my father will be drilling me hard to improve my use of the Sharingan, and he will probably teach me some more Katon techniques, but those trench knives of yours intrigue me Asuma-sensei. I was wondering if you could possibly help me get a pair and teach me how to fight with them when you have the time. I would really like to expand my ability in close-quarters."

Asuma chuckled and dropped the cigarette he had been smoking to the floor and stomped it out with his foot. Yup, his three students were going to do just fine. They all had their heads screwed on straight and they were already planning out how to make the most out of the month they had to train.

"Of course, neither Sakura nor I can begin training until one matter is cleared up of course." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Both Sasuke and Asuma looked at the pair in confusion.

"And what matter is that, Naruto?" Asuma asked, certain he was going to regret having asked the question.

A pair of Naruto's Kage Bunshin came around the corner carrying the pair of scrolls with Naruto and Sakura's belongings in them before the blond boy could respond. They handed the scrolls over and then dismissed themselves, and Naruto latched the scrolls onto his back before turning back to face Asuma once again.

"It's simple, really, Asuma-sensei." He said as he wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist and Hakumei leapt up into the pink-haired girl's arms. "I owe Sakura a major fucking for doing so well in her match. Jaa ne."

The blond haired boy and his pink-haired mate vanished in a swirl of wind and leaves a mere moment before both Sasuke and Asuma's noses exploded with fountains of blood, rocking the pair of shinobi back.

* * *

Somewhere in the vast multi-verse, in a universe so similar yet so very different from their own, a blond boy who looked remarkably like Sakura's mate (with the exception of the bright orange jacket he was wearing and the fact he was several years younger) was looking over a series of Icha Icha books and coming to the conclusion that all shinobi were perverts.

* * *

When Naruto and Sakura finally arrived at the entrance to the Namikaze estates in a swirl of wind and leaves, the pink-haired girl leaned heavily against her boyfriend, thankful when Hakumei leapt happily out of her arms and bounded onto the property to explore. Hakumei wasn't necessarily heavy, but she was definitely large enough to be an inconvenience to carry for a prolonged period of time, and right at that moment all Sakura wanted was a nice hot bath, a massage from her boyfriend, and that furious fucking he had promised her half an hour before.

"Mmmm, Naruto-kun…" She muttered dreamily and snuggled tighter against her mate as he led her into the house that they were currently living in.

The young couple was met at the door by a polite greeting from a new servant who immediately blanched as she realized that her new master was finally back.

"Good evening Kin, would you mind having the chef send over a couple of plates of fried rice and barbecue beef? Oh, and tell the other servants that they can have the night off and that Sakura and I are not to be disturbed for any reason." Naruto said as he walked past his stunned follower, who was currently wearing the standard nondescript white and black clothing of a servant at the Namikaze Compound.

Kin blinked in confusion until she realized that Naruto's hand was not just around Sakura's waist, but rather groping quite firmly at the pink-haired girl's ass. The dark-haired former Otogakure kunoichi blushed fiercely before hurrying off to complete her new master's orders. It wasn't safe to piss off a man who could probably kill her before she even blinked; especially not if he was about to get some loving on with his mate.

* * *

Naruto awoke to the sound of Sakura's slow and steady breathing, to the feeling of her heart beating slow and steady, to her arms wrapped securely around him as she snuggled her body against him in her sleep. He yawned and then looked out the window where the sun was already rising into the sky, illuminating the room that he shared with his mate in a bright red glow. Naruto smiled and then carefully extracted him self from his sleeping beauty's arms, kissing her lightly on the forehead before pulling on a fuzzy black robe and exiting his bedroom, heading downstairs for some breakfast. On his way out the door he snagged a large scroll off of his dresser, one which he had discovered the night before when he had searched the library for possible techniques to study while Sakura was still luxuriating in her bath.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Anko muttered from where she was currently sitting at the counter in the kitchen, a huge mug of coffee and the morning paper before her.

"Morning mom." Naruto replied as he too poured a cup of coffee and took a seat, grabbing one of the spare plates on the counter and sliding some bacon and eggs off of the trays that had been delivered from their chef onto it. As he dug into his food he unrolled the scroll to begin reading.

Anko looked up from her paper to watch her son intently for a few moments, watching the way his eyes were glued to the scroll as he silently took a deep swig of his coffee. When Naruto had finally set the massive mug down Anko spoke up.

"So, gaki, what's with the scroll?"

Naruto grinned and turned his head to look at his mother, his eyes intense as he spoke with happiness in his voice.

"It's a scroll I found in the library the other night. Apparently it was written by my father, and was left for me to read when I was old enough." He said with a smile. "It apparently details a technique which he had developed him self, and which he wanted to pass onto his son but for obvious reasons wasn't able to do personally."

Anko blinked and then asked the question that was burning at the back of her mind.

"What's the technique called?" Even as she asked the question she realized that there could only be two possibilities.

Naruto's eyes glittered with excitement as he spoke, the name held reverently upon his tongue.

"Hiraishin."

* * *

AN: And there you have it folks, Chapter 12 of KGV and the end of the Preliminaries. Now its just up to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to train their little asses off, make plans in case of invasion, and discover a method to stop Shukaku from driving Gaara further insane.

I would like to again thank my beta I.E.T.S. for her tireless and amazing work. Her assistance with this chapter helped me fix several grammar bugs as well as tighten it up. On top of that, there is a scene in this chapter which she is currently storyboarding, as she intends to draw it as a manga sequence.

I recommend you all keep an eye on my profile regularly, particularly after any time I upload a chapter or a new story, because I have reorganized it a little, including putting up a segment where I will be doing my announcements from now on. This decision was made so that all my readers can easily find my announcements without having to go through the chapters of my stories to get to them, and should make it easier if they miss an announcement and wish to read up on. I also suggest you do so as soon as you finish this chapter as I have several announcements already there, as well as a link to the first piece of fan art made for KGV by my beta I.E.T.S.

Jaa ne.

-ZI

**Technique Translations**

**Magen: Akumu**--_Demonic Illusion: Nightmare/ _This is a genjutsu which traps the victim within a nightmare dredged up from their subconscious. As it is something that they secretly fear could be real and could happen to them it is quite hard to break free from if they cannot convince themselves that they are simply in an illusion. (C-Rank Genjutsu)


End file.
